Night Moves
by Mahi-Mahi
Summary: "You're not going to try and give me another lap dance, are you?" Donnie never could seem to meet people under normal circumstances. (2014 based)


The day had been a long and trying one for Donatello. He'd spent his hours as he usually did, locked up in his lab working on the van's latest upgrades. After a particularly violent encounter with The Foot, their ride had suffered even more damage than usual. It had required quite a bit more TLC to recover much of the delicate hardware he had personally written and installed into its computer systems, not to mention all the dents that needed to be buffed out.

He had labored straight through several sleepless nights and sunless days, intent to reverse all the destruction his precious creation had suffered. He refused to accept that it had been completely totaled and instead focused on getting it back in working order. Though the work could be a real chore at times, the hours always seemed to pass by without him even noticing, swallowed up by the river of time. He couldn't even recall the last time he'd breaked for lunch, not that he was bothering to keep track of his diet. No doubt Leo would sit him down for a nice, long lecture if he found out it had been a decent forty-eight hours since he'd even bothered to look at a slice of pizza. However, food was the furthest thing from Donnie's mind at the moment. Bright orange sparks were reflecting in the tinted visor of the mask he wore, the little embers crackling and flaring around his head whilst he finished welding the last crack in the undercarriage of the vehicle.

Too absorbed in the task at hand, Donatello missed the pair of feet that entered his lab. Footsteps circled the frame of the car, heading around the front end before stopping at the passenger's side door. Several moments passed and the loud hiss of the welding machine continued to buzz, causing the owner of said feet to begin tapping an impatient tempo with one of their toes.

Raphael stared down at the pair of legs sticking out from under the vehicle, waiting for a sign that his brother's mind was still in the land of the living and that he had actually managed to hear him enter, walk right up to him and even say hello. Instead, he was greeted with more of the steady snaps and crackles from the welder.

His brother was apparently too distracted to even notice his presence.

"Hey, Donnie," Raph called out and was ignored for the trouble. The sound of the machine went uninterrupted. It just kept spitting its fire, distracting his oblivious brother to his existence. "Donnie," he called again, and then frowned when he received no response, only more sparks.

"Donnie!" Planting his foot on the creeper his brother was laying on, Raph roughly slid the board back. The rusty wheels on it creaked unpleasantly as Donnie came flying out from under the car, only to come to an abrupt halt when Raph jammed his foot in its tracks. The sparks of the machine quickly fizzled out and with the glare of the fire finally doused, Raph was suddenly met with the sight of a large, unflattering welding helmet staring up at him, rather than the bespectacled visage of his young sibling.

With his hands still holding the arc and clamp poised above him, Donnie blinked in momentary confusion. He lay prone, remaining frozen for only a brief second before the image of his older brother's impatient face glaring down at him became answer enough to the impromptu interruption.

"You know, there are better ways to get my attention, Raph." Donnie sighed as he flipped the face of the visor up.

When Raph responded, he looked even more frustrated than usual. Donnie grimaced, noticing his lips were moving, but no words were coming out.

"What?" Donnie interrupted his brother's apparent rant, speaking a bit louder than he actually realized. "Raph, I can't hear what you're saying."

With an expression on his face that Donnie easily recognized as one that was always accompanied by an annoyed growl, Raph planted a hand on the side of the car and leaned down to rip the headphones off Donnie's ears. The cord very nearly snapped as it was jerked out of the audio jack on his iPod.

"I said, I have a favor to ask!" Raph shouted, causing Donnie to hastily reel back from the volume. "God, Donnie, you can be so scatterbrained sometimes." It was Raph's turn to let out a sigh as he tossed the headphones off to the side.

"Geez, you don't have to yell." Donnie grimaced again, unable to stop from rubbing at his ringing ears. He'd honestly forgotten he'd even had the headphones on. Having them torn off his face, only to be met with Raph's loud mouth wasn't exactly pleasant. "And I'm not scatterbrained, I just get a little sidetracked with my work. If you want to preach about scatterbrains, go find Mikey. At least I have some order in my life."

"Whatever, I knocked three times before coming in here when you didn't answer. You're too wrapped up in this stuff. I'm telling you, you need to get out more."

Donnie shook his head as he sat up and stretched. As if he hadn't heard this speech a thousand times. He really wasn't interested in listening to it again. "Well excuse me for trying to fix all the damage this thing sustained the last time we went out…half of which was _Mikey's_ fault." He tossed the helmet aside and grabbed a tattered old rag to wipe his greasy hands clean. "You guys wouldn't even have your precious ride if someone didn't take the time to repair it. Not to mention, the equipment on this baby can be rather sensitive."

"Yeah, yeah, you're a dweeb. We get it already." Raph's hulking shadow moved out from over him, causing an obnoxious yellow glow from the overhead lamp to wash out his lenses. With the glare in his eyes, he distractedly noticed how badly his glasses needed cleaning. There were smudges and soot smears all over them. "If it's so _delicate_," he said the word mockingly, like he was referring to some high-class debutante who was prone to fainting spells and heart palpitations. "You never should have let Mikey near any of it in the first place."

To this, Donnie didn't reply. Mostly because he was right.

"By the way, Master Splinter was asking why you weren't at training this morning." Donnie watched as his brother picked up an old football from one of the many shelves in his shop, all of which were lined with piles of junk and power tools. He casually tossed the pigskin up before catching it again, unbothered by the frayed laces. The hide on it was worn and faded and Donnie honestly couldn't even remember where he'd found the old thing. "You know he doesn't like it when we miss our training."

"If it wasn't obvious, I was busy." Donnie scratched at the back of his head, already feeling guilty.

"Yeah right, we both know you lost track of time in here." Raph smirked and pointed the football at him accusingly. "You got so wrapped in all this crap that you didn't even know if it was morning or night anymore, didn't you?"

Donnie looked away in embarrassment. "So what?"

"Listen, if you wanna spend your life holed up in here, that's your deal. But Master Splinter said the next time you miss another session, you're going in the hashi for a full day."

"What?!" Donnie's head jerked up, panic striking his eyes. Raph couldn't help but laugh in sadistic delight.

"You heard me," he chuckled. "If you don't like it, get your ass out amongst the living once in a while and all this could be avoided. Still, I wouldn't mind seeing your face after you've been in there for a whole day."

"You're twisted, you know that, Raph?" Donnie frowned as he pushed himself up from the floor. "You should at least have a little bit of sympathy, especially for your own brother."

"Hey, I'm just delivering the message." Raph held his hands up defensively.

"Yeah, and I'm sure you were the first one to volunteer to be the messenger," Donnie scoffed.

Raph shrugged. "I was coming in here anyways."

"Only because you wanted to ask me a favor," Donnie said, not having forgotten the way Raph had practically screamed it in his ear earlier.

"About that…" Raph drawled, clearly insinuating that whatever it was he was about to ask was something he wouldn't like.

"I am _not_ assembling anymore rockets for the van! Not until Mikey learns to keep his fingers _off_ the buttons." Donnie abruptly turned on him, half expecting Raph to try bribing him into building more of the explosives. His brothers had been pestering him for more missiles lately, especially with Foot activity on the rise, but he flat out refused. The last time he'd caved to their harassment, they had a particularly unfortunate accident involving an adult book store. Donnie shuddered as he remembered the horrific sight of dildos and porn dvds strewn throughout the streets. It had been on the news for weeks afterwards, replaying speculations that the store had been the target of religious fanatics and conservative Christian activists.

"What?" One of Raph's masked brows lifted before he waved his brother off. "Forget that. Mikey's the one who keeps harping on about that, anyways. What I need is for you to cover my shift tonight."

"No."

"Come on!" Annoyed by the lack of hesitation, Raph threw the football over his shoulder and strode up to this brother. "You didn't even ask me why! At least consider what I'm sayin'."

"No."

"But-"

"Forget it, Raph. You know Master Splinter doesn't like us shirking our duties. It was hard enough to convince him that we were ready to go to the surface. In case you have forgotten, we had to fight Shredder and half of The Foot clan just to prove we were prepared to survive on our own up there. If he found out you were trading off your night watches to go do…whatever it is you have planned, he'll be pissed."

"But that's the thing, Splinter don't need to find out. Not unless you blab your big mouth."

"Way to talk to the person you're trying to ask a favor of, Raph. Smooth as always…" Donnie scowled. "What's the deal, anyways? I thought you loved going out and kicking bad guy butt. I thought it was, you know, your thing."

"That's none of your business," Raph said, making a point of it. "All I need you to do is cover this one night for me, that's it."

Donnie took a moment to actually consider Raph's request. Unlike Raph, who would've probably outright declined his offer if their positions had been reversed, Donnie actually gave him the courtesy of contemplating the pros and cons of accepting. Though, he still knew his answer would be 'no'. While the brothers still went out on group patrols, they frequently split up to cover more ground, only regrouping if one of them ran across a problem too big to handle alone. Taking out common thugs and everyday nuisances didn't always call for the amount of muscle that all four of them put together could dish out. Raph had always stuck to the rougher parts of town, ever eager to get in on the full night's worth of action that the gang-ridden streets could provide, while he and Mikey often watched over the more upper class neighborhoods. Those were places that didn't always have crime, but when they did, the crooks were far more organized and dangerous. Leo, on the other hand, made it his job to scour the whole city, never sticking to one hood or another. That was just how they operated on their own, and it often turned out to be more efficient. Donnie didn't mind his patrols, not in the least. The point was, he'd already put in his hours this week. Along with the fact that Splinter would probably have their shells if he found out, Donnie simply didn't have the time. It had been a couple days since he'd tended to his computer repair hotline, so there were probably too many messages backed up on it to count. The hotline he hosted was the best way to earn money for himself and his family. Without it, they wouldn't have the constant supply of pizza they loved so much, or that big screen tv in the living quarters of their lair. Raph's pet turtle, Spike, would have unpaid vet bills, Leo wouldn't have his brand new stack of 'Ninja Daily' magazines and Mikey…well, Mikey didn't really need anything other than pizza.

Sure, most of what they owned had been salvaged from junkyards and rebuilt – Donnie was more than capable of making something out of nothing – but sometimes even he needed certain parts that simply couldn't be scrounged from the gutters.

While he could understand the stress Leo had to face everyday from having to lead their family, Donnie was equally faced with the responsibility of providing for them. It wasn't like any of them could actually go out and get a job. Aside from the fact that they were giant, mutated turtles, they already had a job, and that was to protect the city; watch over it from the shadows, to always remain unseen and unacknowledged and all that honor stuff that Splinter had drilled into them over the years. So, not only did he willingly join his brothers in being the unrecognized guardians of New York, but he also had to provide an income for his family of five. He couldn't just shirk those responsibilities because Raph wanted a favor.

The answer was no.

"I'm sorry, Raph. I would love to help you out, but I really need to-"

"I'll give you my autographed Wu-Tang Clan CD."

There was a moment's pause and then,

"…deal."

Raph smiled triumphantly. "Ah, nothing a little good old fashioned bribery can't fix." He laughed as Donnie hung his head.

"Just get out of here," Donnie sighed in defeat.

"Don't look so down." Raph pat his brother's back before he turned and headed for the door. "Just look at it like this, at least it gives you the chance to get out of here and get some fresh air."

Donnie only grit his teeth, frustrated over the fact that he'd been suckered into agreeing so easily. Really, he had more pride than that. Still…

"I expect to see that CD in my room by the time I get back," he yelled over his shoulder.

Wu-Tang was Wu-Tang…how could he turn that down?

.

.

.

Donnie cracked his neck a few times as he took a seat at his desk. He had at least a good hour to kill before he needed to head out to cover Raph's shift. With the extra time on his hands, he figured he could at least get a couple customers taken care of. It wouldn't be much, but it would take some of the workload off his shoulders later.

Sliding the mouse across the pad, he leaned back in his chair as multiple screens came to life in front of him.

"Alright, let's see how many angry clients we have waiting for us today…" he muttered unenthusiastically as he slipped his headset on. After pressing a few buttons on the side of one of the earpieces, he dialed into his voicemail.

"_You have 83 unheard messages…_" Donnie didn't even have the energy to cringe. He should have known it would take a hell of a lot more than a few hours to catch up. "_…first unheard message_; Hello, I was referred to your company by a colleague, told me to give ya a call. Our computer here is all messed up, the damn thing won't even stay on. If you could give us a call back soon, the number is 718-347-9299. Thanks."

The accent on the voice was thick and uncultured, making it easy for him to single out the man's Brooklyn heritage, not to mention the area code on the phone number.

Without waiting, Donnie hit the call back button on his headset. It only rang a couple times before he received an answer.

"Sammy's Gentlemen's Club, this is Sparkle speaking, how can I help you?" a woman answered, young by the sound of it, and with an even thicker Brooklyn accent than the man who'd left him the message.

Slouched back in his seat, Donnie twirled a pen lazily in his fingers and idly rotated his chair back and forth, completely unaffected by the nature of the business he'd just called. He'd received clients from much weirder places than a strip joint. "Yeah, this is Donnie from the computer repair hotline. I'm returning your call about a faulty PC."

"Oh! You must be that guy George called the other day. Hang on, lemme see if he's here, he's the one you wanna talk to."

Donnie waited patiently as the woman presumably went to search for 'George'. He heard the sound of her footsteps carrying her to someplace that drowned the phone out with loud music, followed by the slamming of a door, after which the music was abruptly cut off. Soon, voices filled the background none too subtly.

"George, phone!"

"Who is it?"

"I don't know, some guy from that computer hotline."

"Computer…? I called that place three damn days ago! I'll take it in here, now get out!"

Donnie sighed. This guy sounded pleasant…

Soon, the click of a new line being opened came through. "This is George."

"Hello George, this is the computer repair hotline returning your call. What can I do for you?" One thing he'd learned about this job was politeness. Patience was a must, even in the face of hideously angry clients too frustrated with their computers to listen to reason.

"I called you guys days ago! It's about damn time you called me back," George retorted. "You know how big of a pain it's been running a business with a broken computer?"

"I'm sorry to hear that, sir, and I apologize for the wait. Now, if you could please offer me a brief description of your problem, I'll be happy to help you fix any issues you might be experiencing." Donnie continued to twirl his pen, the politeness in his voice failing to reflect on his bored expression.

The man on the other end of the line sighed, apparently too desperate for help to bother keeping up his temper. However, this didn't seem to mean he was willing to be nice about it. "I don't even know what's wrong with it, that's why I called you. Most of the time, it won't even turn on, and when it does, it's frozen or lagging or flat out shuts itself off."

"I see, is the computer in front of you right now?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, if you could please give me the address of your business, I'll be able to pinpoint your issues faster."

"11230 Atlantic Avenue." Donnie spun back around in his chair to face his workstation. Soon, the clicking of a keyboard filled the air. In seconds, he was inside the man's computer. "H-hey…is that you...how did you do that?" George's shock was evident in his voice as he watched the screen on his desktop suddenly come to life with activity.

"Now, a popup will appear on your screen, if you could just click yes…" He waited as George did as he was told. "And then there will be another, just click yes again…"

George fell silent when the mouse on his screen began moving with a mind of its own, confidently zooming this way and that as it opened up windows. It seemed to act of it's own free will, darting about as if it were possessed. "Are…are you doing that?"

"Yes, if you would just be patient for a few more moments, I should be able to find your problem and hopefully offer a quick solution." Several quiet seconds passed as Donnie worked uninterrupted. It wasn't long before he felt he had a good grasp on the issue. "Hmm, I see…"

"What? Do you know what's wrong with it?"

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it."

"What?"

"With your hard drive, I mean. I don't see any bugs, and there's still plenty space on your disk."

"And that's supposed to mean…?"

"It means there is likely a problem with one of the parts inside the unit, probably the fan. If that's not working, then it will overheat and shut itself down."

"So now what am I supposed to do?"

"I suggest taking it to an actual repair shop, or simply buy the part yourself and replace it…it's not a difficult process."

"I wait three days for you to call me back and that's the best advice you can give me?!" George's steadily raising voice was not pleasant, causing Donnie to wince and pull one of the headphones away from his ear when those last few words seemed to reach a new level of loud.

"I'm sorry, sir, but there's nothing more I can do for you over the phone."

"Bullshit! I need this thing working tonight, and I expect you to come and fix it!"

"What? Sir, I don't think you understand, that's not really possible-"

"I said, _you_ are going to fix this piece of junk for me. And you're doing it tonight! I waited three days for you to service this damn thing because I was referred specifically to _you_. I was told that you were the best, so unless you want to prove them wrong and have me write one hell of a scathing Yelp review, you'd best get your ass down here and solve the problem. Pronto."

"But…sir-"

"Tonight!" The harsh clamor of the receiver being slammed down echoed in Donnie's ears.

"Geez, what does this guy expect? A house call?" Donnie tossed his headset onto the desk as he leaned forward to rub his temples. He ran a hotline, for shell's sake. Hotlines were clearly not the place to call when physical repairs were needed for computers. Least of all this late at night!

Donnie had dealt with irate customers before, so it was certainly nothing new. But having one hang up on him while still fuming angry, was. He always solved his clients' problems, they always hung up happy. Besides, didn't that guy realize most hotlines weren't even based in the same area you called from? For all this George fellow knew, he could be located in China.

Problem was, Donnie could tell by the man's accent that this Sammy's Gentlemen's Club was much closer than he would have liked it to be. And that made him feel obligated. And he hated feeling obligated.

Donnie looked at the address that he'd typed down.

"You've got to be kidding me." The place was in Brooklyn…_11230 Atlantic Avenue. _That was around Raph's turf, the very area he'd agreed to take over for the night. For as much as Raph complained about things, he never griped about the districts Leo assigned him to patrol. It was no mystery to any of them as to why. Raph always had enjoyed patrolling the grittier parts of the city. With the crime rates higher in those areas, they provided him with far more fights than most other places in New York. Of course luck would have it that the club would be right in the same vicinity as he would be tonight, never mind the fact that it was even in the same city.

Donnie pushed away from his desk and stood up from his chair. Even if he was covering that area tonight, he had no intention of risking exposure just to pacify some foul tempered business owner.

With the matter practically already forgotten, Donnie headed over to the weapons wall and began to suit up for the night ahead of him. As he finished wrapping his arms, he briefly contemplated breaking into Leo's stash of Red Bull. He'd been up for over forty-eight hours…he'd definitely need the energy boost if he intended to make through the whole night.

.

.

.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Donnie shook his head as he stared down at the seedy establishment below. He took the time to observe the place from the rooftop he stood upon, noting the faded neon lights that advertised the place as a gentlemen's club. The few windows the building had were completely blacked out, and the cracked red brick walls were covered in bad graffiti. A couple half-dead weeds were peeking up through the cement, a few of which had somehow managed to cling to the brick and climb up its chipped façade. The dingy, dark alley that ran alongside the club, however, looked as if the garbage truck hadn't come by to collect the trash in weeks.

The place looked sleazy as hell.

He remained silent as he watched one of the bouncers escort a drunk patron out the front door. The larger bouncer was surprisingly patient with the fumbling man, watching over him carefully and professionally as he tripped over his own feet several times before making his way down the cracked sidewalk.

Donnie inwardly sighed in frustration. His father would _definitely_ stick him in the hashi if he found out about this. Add that to him covering for Raph…

Donnie shuddered as he imagined his punishment being twice as harsh.

He would just have to make it fast. In and out. They'd hardly even know he was there. His brothers and father didn't even have to find out he was daring to go out in public.

Reaching back into a small side compartment of his backpack, Donnie pulled out a ragged old trench coat he kept with him for special occasions just like this. With a few quick jerks, he'd slipped his arms into the sleeves and flipped the hood over his head, trying to force his body to tune out the uncomfortable itch the cheap, thrifty material created on his skin. Not wasting any more time, he jumped down into the alley that separated the abandoned video store he stood on from the strip club he was intending to infiltrate.

Donnie made his way to the back door, intent to get this over with as fast as possible. He needed to head out on patrol soon and couldn't waste any more time than he already was. As he approached, he noticed the step sitting at the base of the doorway, which only consisted of a single wobbly cinderblock barely illuminated by the flickering security light that hung overhead. He made sure not to stand on it, already knowing it would likely break under his weight, and reached up to knock twice.

"Shit," Donnie cursed when he suddenly realized he'd forgotten to bring something to cover his hands with. Before he could even consider retreating, the door swung open, revealing the same heavily muscled bouncer he'd seen earlier. Donnie quickly shoved his hands into his pockets, keeping them buried deep as the tall man's face abruptly froze in shock. Standing a good six-foot, the bouncer actually took a step back as he stared up at the massive figure filling the doorway.

Seeing that he probably wasn't going to speak anytime soon, Donnie cleared his throat. "I'm here to see George about a computer." He kept his head low, trying to keep his face hidden under the hood of his coat. The bouncer didn't say anything at first, apparently still too stunned by the size of the person before him to form a proper thought. Donnie cleared his throat again. He was more than used to such reactions from the humans, and considering the size of the man, he probably wasn't used to seeing many people who were so much bigger than him. "He said it needed some repairs."

Finally shaken from his stupor, the bouncer's heavy frown slid back into place as he turned and motioned for Donnie to follow. "This way," was all he said, his voice gravely and deep.

Donnie had to duck to make it through the doorway, and as he entered, he could hear the low thrum of music pulse through the air, practically vibrating the wall ahead of them. The grimy cement floor was cracked in a few places and looked to be in need of a good cleaning, while an old, stained carpet covered the main pathway between the back door and what he presumed to be the manager's office. It appeared to have been red at some point in the past, but now was a dingy brownish-black that had become frayed at the edges and covered in a several holes.

A few skimpy outfits were draped over some hooks around a small room off to the side, where the sound of feminine voices coming from inside made it fairly easy to deduce it was a changing room.

When the door suddenly swung open and a young brunette rushed out almost completely topless, she quickly skidded to a rough halt as she saw the huge figure walking through the hall. Her mouth hung open slightly as she gawked up at him, her hand frozen over the knot she had still been in the process of tying over her breasts when she stepped out.

Reaching up, Donnie adjusted his hood lower as he nodded to her politely and moved along.

"Cecile! Don't you know it's rude to stare!" The bouncer's voice caused the girl to snap out of her daze. "Get back to work!"

"Y-yeah," she stuttered nervously. "S-sorry." Appropriately chastised, the woman scurried off towards the stage.

"Hey, boss," the bouncer called out as he knocked on the door to the office. "Boss!" This time, he knocked louder when there was no response.

"What?" Donnie instantly recognized the gruff voice that came from inside.

"That computer guy is here."

"Send him in."

Turning the knob, the bouncer pushed the door open and stepped aside, nodding for him to enter. When Donnie walked in, the first thing he was met with was the smell of stale cigarette smoke. The air in the room was thick and foggy, all of it poorly illuminated by the yellowish glow of the bulb hanging on the ceiling without a shade. A few filing cabinets lined the far side of the room behind the desk, each with papers stacked messily atop them.

At the desk itself sat a middle aged man, his dark brown skin seeming even darker in the scantly lit room. His short black hair was peppered with streaks of grey, and his thick mustache and wrinkled clothing made him appear as if he hadn't slept or shaved in days.

"About time you arrived," George said as he smashed his cigarette out in the ashtray on his desk. The tray itself looked as if it were in desperate need of emptying. Crumpled Camel butts were poking out over the sides of the glass dish, causing a few of them to topple over onto the ash covered papers below each time he jabbed his cigarette into it. "I was beginning to think you weren't going to show up."

Donnie, who was very used to humans stammering over his size, felt oddly off balance by the fact that this man didn't seem to react to his height at all. It was like he just didn't care. Instead of dwelling on it, he merely motioned his chin towards the computer on George's desk. "You said you wanted me to come by and fix it. It's not my policy to make house calls, but I was in the neighborhood."

George smirked. "Not your policy? You don't get out much do you?" Donnie was aware of the way the man's brown eyes took a moment to observe his large hooded overcoat and clammed-up appearance. He looked like a total hermit trying to hide some hideous deformity. When Donnie didn't respond to his question, George continued on unfazed. "Think you can fix it?"

"I'd have to take a look at it."

George flourished his hand at the ancient looking machine. "Be my guest."

Just as Donnie stepped forward and started to take his hands out of his pockets, he paused, once more reminding himself that it probably wouldn't be very smart to attempt repairing it in front of him without any gloves. "This thing's pretty old, I'll probably need some tools to take it apart. You got a screwdriver around here anywhere?" Donnie asked as he pretended to examine the computer from a short distance.

Just as he was hoping, George got up and left the room to retrieve a toolbox. Without waiting, Donnie swiftly reached under his coat and pulled out a Phillips screwdriver from his pack. He had the back popped off the console in no time and was already busy examining all the little parts and wiring spread out before him.

"Geez, this thing's got to be at least twenty years old," Donnie mumbled as he scratched the back of his head. He was baffled as to why anyone would even keep such a prehistoric piece of junk around.

As per his original assumption, he found that the fan was broken. The thing was completely burnt out. He fixed it in no time, but he had a feeling it wouldn't last, not with as old as it was.

Toolbox in hand, George returned just as Donnie was screwing the last rivet in place. "I think I found your problem."

"Oh? Can it be fixed?" he asked, completely forgetting about the toolbox, and the fact that Donnie apparently hadn't needed it in the first place, in favor of hearing some good news.

"Yeah, it was just the fan, after all. I already fixed it, but considering the age of this thing, it probably won't last much longer. The broken fan was causing the shutdowns, but that's not why it's been so slow. It's just old."

"Is there anything you can do to make it last longer? It's not like we can afford a new one here."

Donnie sighed as he tried to think of a solution for the guy. There was really nothing to been done about the inevitable death of the thing, it was practically antique. It would probably cost the guy more to salvage it than to just buy a new one.

"Do yourself a favor and trash the thing," he answered honestly.

"Come on, you've got to have a better solution than that." George dropped the toolbox roughly onto the desk as he fell back into his seat. "I can't be left without a computer. A man can't even run a damned business these days without one of these accursed contraptions." Seeming frustrated and weary, he pulled another cigarette out of the pouch in his pocket and lit it up. "There's got to be something you can do, right?"

Donnie sighed.

Why did he have to be so sympathetic?

"Listen, I'm not going to make any promises…but I might be able to come back with some equipment and do a couple upgrades. I can probably keep it running for you for another year. After that, you're just going to have to get another one."

George smiled, causing the few wrinkles on his face to become all the more pronounced. "You have no idea how much I appreciate it. I'm glad I was referred to you…what was your name again?" George trailed off, unable to remember if they'd been properly introduced.

"It's Donatello. And think nothing of it."

"How much do you charge, anyways?"

"Don't worry about it, this one is on the house." It was clear they were pretty strapped for cash around this place.

"I gotta pay you something." George flicked the ash of his cigarette into the overstuffed tray before bringing it back to his mouth.

"Really, it's nothing," Donnie said as he started to turn to leave.

"How old are you, kid?"

Donnie paused and glanced back at the man skeptically. "Does it matter?"

George shrugged. "Just askin'. You look older in that big coat, but you sound pretty young."

_Great_, Donnie thought. The last thing he needed was to get in trouble for being underage in a strip club. By human standards, he was only old enough for admittance into the ones that didn't serve alcohol. Judging by the drunkard that had stumbled out the front of the building when he'd first arrived, he could safely assume this one served up plenty of alcohol along with their naked women.

"You at least old enough for a dance?"

Donnie's jaw almost dropped. "E-excuse me?"

"Just think of it as payment. If you won't accept cash, at least stay for a good time."

Donnie lifted his hand slightly, shaking it at the man without removing it from his pocket. "No thanks, I'll just send you the bill if it's that important to you. It's no big deal."

"Nonsense." George leaned over to the window behind his chair and slid his fingers between the dusty white blinds. Parting two of the dividers, he peeked out into the main part of the club. "One of our best girls is working tonight, I'm sure she'd love to give you a dance. She should just be finishing up for the night."

Donnie resisted the urge to reach up and rub his brow. "Honestly, I really need to get going." He was supposed to be patrolling the streets for Raph. "I have other work that I need to get done. If I don't leave soon-"

A soft knock at the door cut him off before he could even finish.

"Boss, my shift is over. Am I good to clock out?" A young, feminine voice called out from the other side. A thick Brooklyn accent dripped from every syllable, distorting the pronunciation of nearly each word.

"Sparkle! Get in here!" George responded harshly.

"Y-yes, boss!" the girl answered nervously. A millisecond later, the door opened and a small blonde haired girl popped her head in. "Is there somethin' you're needin', boss?" Big blue eyes that almost seemed too large to be real looked anxiously at George, apparently expecting a scolding of some sort.

Judging by her name and accent, Donnie was able to recognize her voice from the phone call he'd made earlier. She looked even younger than she sounded, with long, shapely legs and round, baby-faced cheeks. Her skin was covered in an obscene amount of glitter, causing her to sparkle in the dim lighting as she stepped further into the room. Lush, spiraling blonde curls hung around her face in a short bob, stopping just above her shoulders. The skimpy outfit she wore did little to hide her svelte body and large breasts, showing off skin that was milky and pale. It highlighted her doll-like features, making her appear more delicate and fragile than what she probably was.

"I came in on time today. I swear I wasn't late, you can ask Monica." She lowered her eyes slightly, still anticipating a harsh chewing-out.

Ignoring her words, George motioned his hand towards Donnie. "Sparkle, this is Donatello. He just did me a huge favor, so I want you to show him a nice time."

Sparkle tilted her heart shaped faced up to him and her long black lashes widened as she took in his size. Glossy pink lips pursed out into a soft 'oh' as she stared at him in open shock. "You're so big!" she blurted, seemingly unaffected by her own bluntness.

Donnie couldn't help it, he lifted a hand from his pocket and rubbed his temple. By now, he didn't really give a damn if they saw his hands or not. If anything, he was actually _hoping_ they'd notice his green skin and unhuman-like fingers and freak out. At least then he'd have an excuse to leave.

"I'm very sorry to decline, ma'am, but I really have to-"

"Anyone who is a friend of the boss is a friend of mine!" The small woman interrupted him cheerfully, all traces of her previous hesitation magically vanishing into thin air. Donnie was about to completely refute her claim that he was any type of 'friend' to her boss, but when she smiled up at him with a sweetness he didn't normally see in humans, he completely lost his resolve to be harsh with her. He really was too soft sometimes, no assertiveness whatsoever. "Should I give 'im a dance, boss?" She looked back to George, and with that one small movement, her high-pitched Brooklyn drawl was almost lost in all the flashiness of her skimpy outfit and twinkling glitter...almost.

"Listen, George," Donnie began, hoping that if he used the man's actual name he'd perhaps get his point across better. "The bill will be in the mail. This is all unnecessary, so I'll just-"

Once again, he didn't even get to finish.

"I'll be out front taking stock of the bar." George stood up and made his way to the side door of the room, too concerned with the stack of papers he'd just picked up to bother listening to what Donnie had to say. However, before he exited, he paused over the threshold and turned back to sternly point his forefinger at Sparkle. "Make sure you holler if this guy gives you any shit…and you," he turned to Donnie. "Don't cause trouble for my girl here."

Donnie grimaced. He was the one forcing this girl on him, and now he's telling _him_ to behave himself?

He was really starting to grow impatient with this whole situation.

When George finally closed the door behind him, Donnie inwardly sighed in relief. At least now he could get out of here without causing a scene. He had a feeling this girl would be a lot more easy to get around than George had been. Ignoring her, Donnie turned to the door with every intention to leave, only to come face to face with the small, busty stripper. He blinked down at her, half surprised by how fast she'd managed to block his exit and half put off by her large blue eyes looking up at him so sweetly.

"Don't you wanna have a seat?" Placing a hand on his chest, she began pushing him back towards the worn-out couch that lined the left wall.

"Uh…Miss, it's very kind of you to offer your…uh, services, but I really have to be somewhere else."

"I'm sure you have at least a few minutes to spare?" Her smile was sultry as she gave his chest a gentle shove, fully expecting him to mindlessly fall back onto the couch, slip into a lustful stupor and then bow to her bidding like most men did in her presence. Instead, she frowned in confusion when his large body didn't even budge.

"Not really, I'm actually very strapped for time, so if you'll excuse me, I'll just be on my way." His nervous laugh went completely unnoticed as the girl tried to push him down onto the couch again. When she received nothing for her efforts, she determinedly placed both of her small hands on his broad chest and shoved him a bit harder.

Donnie stared down at her awkwardly, his much larger body utterly unmoved by the force she was using. Seeing the dogged resolution on her face, he couldn't help but take pity on her. Trying not to groan at the hindrance this woman was causing him, he caved and allowed her to push him down onto the couch, pretending to fall back from her strength.

The sooner he got this over with, the sooner he could leave. Chances were this whole thing was going to end in disaster, regardless of what he did, so it seemed he really had no choice in the matter.

The old cushions on the sofa had absolutely no padding left in them, which caused him to sink uncomfortably low as he fell into place. Still, despite his growing impatience with the situation, the girl seemed rather pleased with herself now that she'd 'succeeded' in finally getting him seated. With that one accomplishment under her belt, her smile widened in satisfaction, not even bothering to hide the fact that she'd invested just a little too much energy into the task and was now left slightly winded. Instead, her stilettos clicked quietly on the floor as she stepped up to him, making it clear she was still intent to continue.

Her blue eyes were smiling down at him as she reached up and began to unbutton her pretty fur jacket. "Ain't that big coat uncomfortable?" she asked as she slowly slid the soft white fur off her shoulders.

"I'm just fine, thank you." Donnie swallowed the lump in his throat, his entire body stiffening when one of her knees crept forward and planted itself on the couch next to his thigh. The low buzz of music was still droning on outside the room, sending oddly delightful little shivers up his spine from the vibrations in the wall behind him.

"It's so concealin', though," she pouted as she leaned forward. The pink neon lights from the stage were shining through the blinds in the room, allowing their colors to travel across her face with every slow, calculated movement she made. "I can't even see your face."

"Uh, that's kind of the point." Donnie leaned back as she just kept creeping closer.

"Why? You're not trying to hide anything are you?" She smiled again and Donnie smiled back at the irony. He was very much trying to hide something. When she giggled, the sound seemed unusually genuine for a woman whose profession required the use of fake smiles to seduce men who were only there to watch her dance. "What is it? You're not fat, are you?"

Donnie scoffed. "Hardly."

"Then why don't you take this thing off?" The girl reached out and ran her hand down his arm enticingly, fully expecting to be met with the soft, flabby flesh of a man who clearly didn't get out of his house enough. However, when she touched him and only came into contact with incredibly firm, incredibly solid muscle, she actually came up short. "Oh, my…you're so…_solid_." Her eyes suddenly became large with curiosity. "_Very_ solid…" she repeated this as if it were some type of puzzling discovery she'd just made. "You don't feel fat at all." With renewed interest, she moved even closer to grasp the arm she was now examining with both hands – hands that she couldn't even fit around his muscles. Her slender fingers pressed and explored the curve of his bicep, apparently very fascinated in its shape and feel.

Donnie attempted to shrug his arm out of her reach, feeling both flustered and frustrated with the way her barely covered breasts kept brushing against him.

"Yes, well, this was all very interesting, but I think it's time I get going." She was getting way too close.

"No, wait, I haven't even finished your dance yet!" She took it upon herself in that moment to settle down into his lap completely, as if she actually expected her meager body weight could help hold him captive. "At least stay a little longer." She wiggled her hips softly.

"It's quite alright!" Donnie's voice cracked as he watched her lift her hands to the clasp on her top, igniting an internal battle inside his mind over whether or not he should pull his hands out of his pockets and stop her before she went any further, or just stay put and try to bear with it. "I honestly think I've stayed long enough!"

"Don't be so nervous. I really like you...Donatello, was it? Plus, the boss told me to show you a nice time. You shouldn't leave so soon."

The last tie on her light blue top popped open and Donnie instantly lifted his hands to her breasts, stopping the fabric from falling any lower. Perhaps if he were just a regular human, this situation would be much more interesting than it currently was. However, as it stood now, he was nothing more than a giant humanoid turtle too concerned with having his cover blown to be distracted with the female body.

"Sorry, Miss, but as nice as the gesture is, I _really_ don't want to see your breasts right now!"

The first thing that flashed through her eyes was hurt. Donnie grimaced slightly, seriously confused by her disappointment. Was she seriously upset that he didn't want to see her tits? What was with this girl?

The next thing to fill her eyes was embarrassment, and with a demeanor that was much less confident than before, she reached up to retie her top self-consciously…only to pause at the sight of the two massive green hands engulfing her upper torso.

Donnie realized his mistake too late as he watched her stare down at them in silence. There was delayed moment where she simply took them in, looking at them in open bewilderment. The three long fingers on each hand practically swallowed her shoulders, while his large palms covered her breasts completely.

Moving slowly, she lightly touched the back of one of his hands with her fingertips, testing the texture of his skin.

"What…"

When she looked up at him, he could see the realization that 'something isn't quite right about this person' had begun to sink into her eyes. Her other hand reached out to the hood of his coat, apparently intending to reveal him.

Donnie quickly shoved her away, tossing her off to the side as he shot up from the couch.

"Oh, would you look at the time! It's so late! Okay, so this was lots of fun, but I'm gonna go. Take care, see ya later!"

"W-wait! Don't leave!" Scrambling off the couch, she tried to chase after him. "I didn't mean to offend you. I was just curious!"

"It's cool! Forget about it." Donnie was on a fast track to the door, failing to notice the girl as she clumsily stumbled off the couch and scrambled after him.

"But-!"

"Really, it's no biggie! Chow!"

"At least let me see your-" Reaching out to him in an effort to catch up, the girl tripped on her stilettos and went flying forward into his legs. Taken off guard, Donnie felt his legs give out from under him as she crashed right into the backs of his knees. Flailing in panic, her fingers clamped down on the tail of his coat and pulled it with her as she fell. Both of them went tumbling to the ground, causing Donnie to smack his forehead on the corner of a wooden table by the door.

The table itself cracked from the impact, resulting in a loud, messy clatter of wood and scattered papers.

He honestly thought he might have blacked out for a second, because when he came to, his vision was remarkably blurry.

"Damn, that really smarts," Donnie groaned as he rubbed his throbbing head, surprised by just how much the collision had hurt. As he continued trying to soothe the growing lump on his skull, he frowned when he noticed his missing spectacles. "My glasses…man, no wonder everything's so blurry." He patted the floor around him, squinting hard as he searched. "Where the heck are – ah! There they are. Honestly, I can't see a thing without them." His expression lightened exponentially when his fingers settled on the familiar rim of his lenses. Thankfully, his vision returned as he slipped them on, making sure to adjust the bridge a little higher when they still felt too low. Suddenly remembering the other party in the room, Donnie turned and glanced around in search of the clumsy woman that had caused all this mess. When his eyes settled on her, he grew concerned at the paleness of her countenance. "Are you alright, Miss? Miss?"

The girl was on her knees in front of him, her fingers shaking slightly even as they still clung to the hem of his coat that was now tangled around his legs. She stared at him with a blank, panicked sort of daze in her eyes, as if the world around her had just fallen apart and she didn't know how to react to it. He observed her for a moment, wondering if he should be worried.

She really didn't look good. She was white as a sheet. If she had hit her head on anything half as hard as what he had...

"You're not hurt, are you?" Donnie blinked up at her, then abruptly became aware of the fact that his coat was barely hanging around his elbows, leaving him completely exposed.

Before her, a huge green turtle lay sprawled on the floor, his very presence defying every ounce of logic and reality she thought she knew. He watched the way her eyes slowly roved over him from head to toe; from the gadgets on his backpack, to his shell, to his bandana, to his nerdy, taped up glasses, even down to the wrappings on his arms and legs and feet.

The longer she gazed at him, the paler she got.

Donatello knew exactly what was coming next.

"N-now, Miss," he tried to reason with her. "There's really no need to panic. Just remain calm and don't-"

Without warning, her eyes rolled back into her head and her body went limp. Alarmed, Donnie rushed forward and caught her before her face could hit the ground.

"Well…at least she didn't scream."

.

.

.

A full week had passed since Donnie had left the strip club, wholly grateful that he'd escaped that situation without any _real_ problems arising. He'd returned to the lair and holed himself up in his lab as usual, downing all the Red Bull and coffee his body could handle. He'd gotten some much needed sleep the night before, but it clearly hadn't been enough. He still felt too tired to really concentrate on his work.

Perhaps he should just give it a rest for a while and head to the dojo. He was actually starting to miss it and his time with Splinter. Going a good round or two with his father and brothers was actually starting to sound really nice, and he definitely needed the workout.

Still pondering this, Donnie was sitting at his workstation, casually tweaking his new ipod and going through the long list of messages that were still piled up on his voicemail, when one message in particular caught his attention.

"_Hey, computer guy!_" Donnie scowled, recognizing the harsh voice on the recording. "_I'm sure you'll remember me, or maybe you won't since you said you'd return to finish my computer's repairs and then never showed up! In case you need a reminder, t__his is George from the club. __It's been over a week and I haven't seen anyone down here to fix my problem! Unless you expect it to magically repair itself, get your ass down here and finish the job or else a horrible Yelp review will be the least of your worries!_" The sound of the receiver being slammed down exploded through his speakers, causing Donnie to flinch.

It was good minute that Donnie stared at his keyboard, silently contemplating what he'd just heard.

The guy still wanted him to come and repair his computer? But…hadn't that girl told her boss what happened? Maybe she had and they just thought she was nutty. After all, who'd believe a story about a giant, six-foot-seven turtle who refused your lap dance? Or maybe she really just didn't tell anyone.

If that was the case, he could still go back and finish the repairs. After all, he had given the guy his word.

Donnie shook his head.

He couldn't go back there. It was too risky, especially if that girl was still there and hadn't checked herself into a mental hospital yet.

What was her name again? Sparkle?

The name was ridiculous, but he had to admit her smile had been pleasant, if not a little naïve; an exceptionally odd combination for a stripper. She may have been beautiful, but he wasn't exactly keen on getting forced into sitting through another lap dance, whether it be by her or some other girl George might try to force on him. Still, just the thought of receiving another harassing phone call from that man was not something he was not looking forward to, and somehow he knew George wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted...last night's debacle was proof enough of that. If he went and got the issue out of the way, he could put a stop to it.

He could at least go back and take care of things. If he told the club's owner he would do something, he should do it, if only for the sake of upholding his word. Besides, if he sensed anything was off about it, he would just bail. He'd already succeeded in getting out of that place once when the odds had been stacked against him. He could do it again.

Chugging his last can of Red Bull, Donnie grabbed his tool kit and trench coat before heading out of the lair. He was going out on patrol tonight anyways, he might as well stop by there before his shift.

.

.

.

The back door to the club creaked open to reveal the same bouncer that he'd met during his last visit. This time, however, the man's face only showed a brief spark of shock before he quickly reined it in and stepped aside, jerking his stubborn chin out in a silent display of greeting.

"Come on in," he said as he led Donnie down the same worn-out row of carpet they'd walked before. "He's been waiting for you all week. You should know he's going to be in a bad mood."

Donnie didn't respond the man's deep, gruff warning. He merely nodded in silent thanks for the heads up.

When the bouncer knocked on George's office door, he didn't even get the chance to speak before his boss's scathing voice bellowed through the wood. "If it's not the computer guy, then get lost!"

"It's him," the bouncer answered. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence that followed, giving Donnie the impression that it was more like the calm before the storm.

"Send 'im in."

As the bouncer opened the door, Donnie's nostrils were once again assaulted with the heavy scent of smoke and alcohol. When he stepped inside, George was sitting at his desk, puffing hard on a cigarette.

"This damn thing's broken again!" George slammed his palm down on his desk as he stood up from his chair.

Donnie stuffed his gloved hands into his pockets and shrugged, unsurprised by the man's ability to skip all the awkward greetings and get straight to the point. "I told you what I did was only a temporary fix. You knew it wasn't going to last long."

"Yeah, and you said you'd be back to fix it!"

"I was…busy," he lied. "Besides, I'm here now."

"After I've been without a computer for half a week!"

Donnie clenched his teeth. Man, this guy could really be loud.

"Just…fix it!" George shouted as he turned and exited the room through the side door, rattling the pictures on the wall as he slammed it shut behind him.

"Talk about a temper…" Donnie mumbled as he made his way over to the desk and began unloading all the necessary equipment he'd need from his toolbox. Squatting down in front of the desk, he barely got the back of the system unit unscrewed when the clicking sound of heels came rushing down the hall outside.

"Hey boss, Fred said Donatello was back! I wanted to-" The obnoxious, high-pitched voice came to a sudden halt as a head of massive, curly blonde hair rounded the corner. All the excitement in the girl's face died out as she froze in the doorway.

"Great." Donnie's head rolled back as he groaned at his luck. He was really hoping she wouldn't be here. Of course things would never be that easy.

Pulling his hood lower for good measure, he narrowed his eyes at her and waited for the inevitable scream, half expecting her to call the other humans in here to expose him.

"Um…h-hello," she said nervously, her greeting giving him major pause. Why was she telling him hello instead of screaming like a banshee?

"….hello," he returned slowly, still on guard.

"So…you're finally back to fix the boss's computer?" The attempt at small talk was a total fail, leaving the atmosphere feeling more awkward than anything else. "He was really starting to give up hope." She laughed uneasily.

"I could tell."

More uncomfortable pauses.

"Well, if you'll excuse me," he ventured when she still didn't say anything. "I need to finish fixing this thing, so…" He was kind of hoping she'd take the hint, leave him alone and forget everything that had happened. As he turned back to his work, he was a little surprised to hear the tap of one of her heels taking a step deeper into the room.

"It's pretty old, ain't it?" She gestured towards the computer, as if there was any question as to what she was talking about.

"Yeah," he answered belatedly, half fearful she was going to try and force another lap dance on him. Perplexed by her behavior, he tried to take in some of her scent to get a better grasp on the situation. Though his sense of smell wasn't all that enhanced, it was still slightly better than that of the average human. In the hazy, smoke-filled room, however, getting a whiff of anything other than the stink of the ashtray was difficult.

She shifted slightly just then, allowing some of her smell to drift towards him. Perfume, make-up and laundry detergent were the main scents that hit him, but there was also the smell of fear on her.

So, she was afraid, after all. It was actually more comforting than anything else, as it was something normal, something familiar that he was used to expecting from her kind.

Though understandable, it still begged the question; why was she even here if she was so scared of him?

"Um, would you mind if I watched ya work for a bit?" She offered a rather tight smile.

Donnie looked at her skeptically.

"If ya don't mind, that is. I still have a few minutes before my shift and need to kill some time."

He still couldn't get a grasp on her intentions.

"I mean, you don't have to. I was just sorta curious and-"

"You're not going to try and give me another lap dance, are you?"

There was a pause before she erupted into a fit of giggles, clearing some of the tension.

"So, ya don't mind?" She smiled at him again. This time, the gesture looked much more genuine, like she was actually eager to receive the acceptance.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt," Donnie sighed in consent. He kept quiet as she came forward and propped herself atop the desk next to him. More awkwardness filled the atmosphere as he turned back to his work. With her so close, he tried not to notice the smell of her perfume or the sound of her breathing. Instead, he focused on the task of taking the ancient PC apart piece by ancient piece.

Several minutes passed without conversation, allowing him to fully sink into his work. After a time, he actually forgot that she was even in the room. That is, until he noticed her figure creeping closer through his peripheral. Thinking it was just his imagination, he lightly shook his head and ignored it…until she kept leaning closer, and closer…and closer.

Unnerved, Donnie's eyes slid over to her. Instantly, she leaned back and looked away, her face flushing bright red as she tried to pretend that she hadn't just been caught staring at him so openly.

Satisfied that his personal bubble wouldn't be invaded again, he buried himself back into his work.

However, with her sitting so close, Donnie could actually hear the quiet jingle of her earrings as she moved. It's what clued him in to the fact she had started inching her way closer to him again. Hanging his head, Donnie let out a heavy breath. "Can I help you?" It was obvious she was trying to get a peek under the hood.

"S-sorry," she leaned back again. "You can't really blame me for bein' curious, can ya?"

"Curious?" Donnie's brow arched at her choice of words. "Usually people are just terrified."

"Well, that too." She nodded in agreement.

"Gee, thanks…"

"Just what are you, anyways?" Being around Mikey his whole life, Donnie was rather accustomed to inappropriate bluntness. But still, it was a little weird coming from this girl. Then again, April had asked them that same question in a very similar manner when they first met her. Perhaps it wasn't so odd, after all.

"Do you really want to know?" he asked as he pulled the old, dusty motherboard out of the desktop's tower.

"Yes."

"Well, to put it in basic terms, I'm a mutant."

"What's a mutant?"

Donnie could have fell over. Just how low was this chick's IQ? Didn't she at least read comic books?

"A mutant is…well, it's…" He was wracking his brain for a way to explain it to her in laymen's terms, something simple and uncomplicated enough that she might be able to understand. "It's someone that's undergone genetic alteration, changing not only their appearance, but also their intellect, strength and various other aspects of that individual."

The look on the girl's face was confused, though she tried to hide it. Still, she nodded, all the while failing to disguise the fact that she hadn't grasped a single word of what he'd said.

With another sigh, Donnie dropped his forearm onto the desk, offhandedly noting that even squatted in front of it like he was, and sitting atop like she was, she only just reached a little above eye level. "You know Spiderman?" he asked, thinking this to be a sure-fire way to drill the point into her head.

At his question, she nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I love that movie!" Donnie honestly wondered if she even knew that Spiderman was also a series of graphic novels that had a long history even before Hollywood had gotten their hands on it.

"So you've read the comic, or watched the movie in your case, and remember how he used to be just an average guy until he got bit by that radioactive spider and got all those superpowers?" Another nod. "Well, technically, he's a mutant. He used to be normal, but then changed into something extraordinary due to the influence of outside forces."

"Ohh, so like, you used to be just a normal, everyday turtle until ya got bit by a radioactive spider?"

Donnie was at a loss. He supposed he should just be impressed that she'd managed to deduce that he was a turtle. Though, the shell on his back should have made that obvious. "Yeah, something like that." It was close enough.

"Wow, that's really amazin'."

"Yes, it is." One corner of his mouth nearly tilted up in a smile. Her unbridled awe was actually rather adorable, but still, he couldn't help but wonder… "Why didn't you tell anyone about me?"

"Actually, I tried." She shrugged, as if this particular topic had already worn her down somewhat since his last visit. "But no one believed me. All the girls, they kept tellin' me, '_Now, Sparkle, just cuz the guy's a huge, fat social introvert that clearly never gets out of the basement, _doesn't_ mean that he's an ugly, mottled, green skinned freak_'."

Huge…fat…ugly…

It was nice to know he'd left such a nice impression on her.

"But I says to them, _'you should listen to me, I ain't lyin' and I ain't losin' my marbles'_! Besides, I never said you was ugly, they just automatically assumed that because of the hideous trench coat! But even when I try to explain everything, it don't do no good." She let out a long sigh. "Oh well...whaddaya gonna do?"

"How very unfortunate." Donnie tried and failed to hold back the sarcasm in his voice. "Sorry to hear all your friends refuse to believe I'm a talking turtle, and instead cling to the belief that I'm some obese weirdo in a unfashionable trench coat. How could they ever possibly think you were crazy for that?"

"I know, right? They're all lookin' at me like I'm a loony now." She had totally failed to pick up on his sarcasm and seemed to be 100% serious. Seeing her plight, Donnie did try to put himself in her shoes and identify with her circumstances. If he was a normal human and had made an amazing discovery like a mutated turtle, he'd probably try to tell all his friends, too, and they'd probably think he'd lost a good portion of his higher brain function.

"I'm sorry," he said, this time much more genuinely. "I know this isn't the type of thing a person would expect to deal with everyday."

"It's alright. I'm sorry I thought you was fat. And that I fainted."

"It's fine, I'm used to it." Reaching under his hood, he pulled his goggles down over his glasses and used them to zoom in on a particularly small wire that he was working on. "Now that I'm back, you do know that all you have to do to get them to believe you is call them in here and show me to them, right?"

"Hey, you're right!" Sparkle snapped her fingers like she'd just had an epiphany. Donnie watched her from corner of his eye, surprisingly curious as to what she would do now that he'd planted the idea in her head. "Why didn't I think of that before?" Quite suddenly, she began to deflate, as if the idea had completely lost its appeal. Reaching up, she tapped her lower lip as her brow crinkled in thought.

"Something wrong?"

"I was just thinkin'," she began. "If I called George and all the gals in here, they'd start screamin' and panickin'…that probably wouldn't be very pleasant for you." Donnie was actually stunned by her sympathy.

"That's…actually very considerate of you."

"Ain't nothin'." She waved him off with a smile. "Believe it or not, I know what it's like to be singled out and pointed at. It ain't a pleasant thing."

Donnie offered her an understanding smirk. Perhaps she wasn't so bad, after all.

"Can I ask you somethin' else?"

"I guess." He didn't miss the hint of self-consciousness that suddenly filled her tone.

"Why…why didn't you want me to take my clothes off?"

Donnie's screwdriver froze above the tiny rivet he was unscrewing.

"Uh…"

"Don't you think I'm pretty?"

"Uh..."

This wasn't looking good.

How could he go about this in the most logical, straightforward way without hurting her feelings? His brain went down every possible path, trying to find the best outcome, but he could find none. They all ended in her running out of the room crying from an unintended insult he'd unknowingly delivered. Commonsense dictated that he should start off with the obvious 'you're a human being and I'm a giant turtle trying to keep my identity a secret' explanation. After all, it would have been kinda hard to hide that little fact with a naked girl squirming and grinding all over him.

What would Mikey say in this situation? Or better yet, Leo. Yeah, Leo was always really good with girls.

"O-of course I think you're pretty, Miss…uh, Miss Sparkle." _LAME! _Donnie resisted the urge to smack his own forehead at his pathetic attempt to diffuse the situation.

"Then why didn't you wanna see me?" She blinked down at him with her big blue eyes, looking like a kicked puppy. "Are my boobs too small?" At this, she reached up, cupped both breasts in her hands and looked down at them in woe.

"N-no! That's not it! You're breasts are perfectly fine!" More than perfectly fine, actually. "Their size and shape are very proportional to you height and build." _Smooth, real smooth…_

Remarkably, her face lit up. "Really? You think so?"

"Um…yes?"

With a tiny squeal of satisfaction, Sparkle grinned at him happily. "Oh, good! I was really beginnin' to worry that you didn't like me."

Donnie let out a long breath that he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

Crisis averted.

"Most guys love seein' me without my shirt on," she explained easily. "I was startin' to think you were weird or somethin'."

_He_ was the weird one?

"Can I ask you one more thing?"

"It depends," he said, not sure if he wanted to deal with anymore of her questions. "Just, please, don't ask me about your breasts again."

"Will you take your hood off?"

Donnie's eyes snapped up to her, shocked. Why did she want him to take his hood off? She'd already fainted once at the sight of him. "I really don't think that would be a good idea…"

"Please, I promise I won't cause a scene like I did last time." She briefly averted her eyes, as if ashamed of the reaction she'd given him before. "I…I just wanna see your face."

"Well, you've already seen me once…" he mulled aloud. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

Before he could even settle on a decision, her own hand was moving towards him. He tensed up when her fingers gripped the edge of the hood and slowly began pushing it away from his face. Unsure if he should bother stopping her, Donnie merely watched her glossy lips purse as she licked them nervously, her eyes large, inquisitive and even borderline scared. With his goggles still on, he could pick up on the readings of her pupils dilating and her pulse accelerating, both signs of anxiety and fear.

Although that hesitation was present, he could also see her curiosity beginning to surface. When his hood fell back completely, she swallowed softly, every emotion playing across her face like an open book.

She seemed to be understandably uncertain at first; the sight of his spotted green skin and strange features must have been a lot to take in. He flinched when she touched his goggles, having forgotten that he even had them on, and didn't resist when she slowly pushed them back onto his forehead.

A heavy blush covered her cheeks when she looked down into his eyes, now visible to her through his thick lenses. For a moment, he wished she hadn't pushed his goggles back, at least then he could better analyze her odd reactions.

As she continued to stare at him, Donnie had been preparing for a lot different reactions from her, but the last thing he expected was for her to smile at him.

"You have brown eyes…"

Just as she said this, the side door to the office swung open and George walked in. Donnie hastily pulled away and jerked his hood back over his head, barely covering himself in time.

"You have my computer fixed yet?"

"Uh, yeah." Donnie had to clear his throat a few times to get the lingering taste of the tense atmosphere out of his mouth. With his hood firmly back in place, he returned the motherboard to its rightful nook and began screwing the back of the tower on. "I think this should last you another year or so."

"Good, at least now I can get some work done around here." George made his way over to the desk and plopped down in his chair, where he lit up yet another cigarette. "I was beginning to think this thing would never get fixed."

Donnie piled the last of his tools into his toolbox and stood up, glad his job was finally done. "Well, if that's all you need from me, then I'll just see myself out."

"You any good at repairing things besides computers?" George asked before he could even get to the door.

"Like what things?" Donnie wasn't sure if he liked where this was going. He should just leave now before this guy hooked him with his grubby little claws anymore than he already had.

"Like everything."

"I guess."

"Good, then come back tomorrow night and fix my stage lights. Our customers can't see half the girls when they're working, most of the wiring is bad and doesn't work on the left side of the stage." Still sitting on George's desk, Sparkle utterly lit up at his words.

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea. I'm sure he'd love to come back!"

"What? I can't just come back here anytime and fix every little thing that's broken."

"Don't you wanna see us again?" Sparkle hopped down from her perch and approached him, staring up at him with her large eyes. Donnie took a step back. He had no desire to be on the receiving end of those long, heavily mascaraed lashes batting up at him. "Please, Donatello?"

He shot George a glare over her head. The man's face was sporting a decidedly smug smirk, the look in his eyes practically daring him to say no to the girl.

Gritting his teeth, Donnie caved. "Fine."

Really, just how much work was this guy going to con him into doing for free?

.

.

.

"I can't believe we're out here wasting time on this." Unable to keep his opinion to himself, Raph grumbled the words as he followed his brothers across the wet, rainy rooftops.

"Stop complaining," Leo said as he jumped over a crumbling chimney stack and came to a stop on the other side. "Donnie's been acting weird lately and I intend to find out why."

"Yeah, it is kinda weird for Donnie." Mikey landed next to his eldest brother and scratched the side of his head in thought. "Leaving the lair early for his patrols, going out wearing a disguise, and taking all that techy junk with him when he goes…he's starting to act like you, Raph," Mikey laughed. "Well, minus the techy junk…you're not smart enough for that."

"Can it, Mikey!" Raph smacked him upside the head and then turned to Leo. "So the guy's been acting a little shady. Who cares if he wants to spend more time outside the lair? It's good for him. He's the one who's always locked up in that lab all the time."

"Is that really what you think?" Leo asked. "Or are you just trying to cover for him since he took over your shift last month?"

Raph started to respond, but then stopped when he realized what Leo was saying. "You knew about that?"

"Of course, and if you don't want Splinter to find out about it, you should do as you're told."

"You're not gonna boss me around, Leo."

"I'm not bossing you. I'm ordering you."

"Look, all I'm tryin' to say is give the guy some privacy."

"I intend to, once I figure out what he's been doing."

"Why do you care so much, anyways?" Raph growled in frustration. He could already feel the argument starting to escalate. Although, they both knew it wasn't for the sake of Donnie's privacy, but for the sheer sake of all their underlying 'leadership' issues. These days, it seemed all their fights had less to do about whatever topic they were debating, and more to do about arguing for the sake of arguing.

"Because, he's my brother and I don't want him getting into any trouble. Once I know he's not out doing anything stupid or crazy, we'll leave him alone. That's it, so just get over it, Raph."

Raphael was on the verge of retorting when Mikey popped up between them and pointed to something out in the distance.

"Look, there he is!"

Both Leo and Raph rounded on their smaller brother, shushing him harshly. "Quiet down!" Leo hissed. "You're going to give away our position."

Mikey reeled back, holding up his hands in apologetic surrender. "Sorry!" he whispered loudly.

"Alright, I want everybody to follow him at a healthy distance. _Got it?_" None of them missed the way Leo narrowed his eyes at Raph, silently willing him to obey.

As both Leo and Mikey took off in pursuit, Raph hung back, shaking his head as he wrestled with his conscience. Spying on his brother…it was damn uncomfortable.

.

.

.

One by one, the brothers' heads popped up from over the edge of the rooftop. They had taken up post on an abandoned video store and were lined up along the ledge, each of them laying on their bellies while they stared down at the puddle-filled alley Donnie had just slipped into. Trash cans sat upturned and unorganized along the side of the buildings, their contents spilling over onto the wet concrete.

The dirty surroundings, the stray cats scavenging through the dumpsters, and the smell of the grimy, wet pavement was nothing unusual. However, the sight of their brother approaching a topless bar, was.

"Woah…Donnie going into a strip club?" Mikey stared at the big, flashing sign that hung above the entrance of the establishment reading _Sammy's Gentlemen's Club_. "Who knew our bro was a closet pervert?" Mikey wiggled his eyebrows as he nudged Raph on the shoulder, earning himself a harsh glare for his trouble.

"It's not funny, Mikey," Raph snapped. "Is he even old enough to get in there?" He turned to Leo. "Are we even old enough to get in there?"

"We're eighteen," Mikey supplied.

"Shut up, Mikey. I ain't talkin' to you!"

"Geez, sorry!"

"Why is Donnie visiting a strip club?" Leo whispered to himself as he watched his brother disappear through the back door.

"Well Leo, you see, when a man loves a woman-" Raph was suddenly cut off when Leo gave him a cuff on the back of the head.

"Quit goofing off."

Rubbing the fresh bump under his bandanna, Raph sneered at his brother.

"And what do you suggest we do now, _leader_?"

"Just lay low for now. We wait for him to come out…"

_Two hours later…_

Raph had to tap into every last ounce of his patience as yet another _plink_ sounded next to him. He stared hard into the wall of the adjacent building and continued to slowly drum his fingers on the damp cement of the roof, endeavoring to ignore the way Mikey kept trying to fling pebbles across the alley and into the neighboring building's drainage pipe.

_Plink._

Raph flinched and clenched his hand into a fist.

_Plink._

He'd had to listen to this shit for the better part of an hour now.

_Plink._

"No, you're doing it all wrong, Mikey," Leo said as he leaned over and grabbed a pebble from the smile pile of rocks their youngest brother had amassed. "Like this."

With a sickening amount ease that was displayed in practically every aspect of his life, Leo placed the pebble on the ledge in front of him and, after taking a short moment to line up his aim, flicked the tiny rock across the alley and right into the pipe.

"Nice shot, Leo!" Mikey praised, which only tested Raph's nerves further.

"It was just a damn rock. Big deal," Raph scoffed.

"Then why don't you do it?" Mikey held a pebble out to him, sporting a mischievous smile on his face.

Raph slapped his hand away. "Like I'm going to play some kiddie game." Trying to divert the subject, he looked back down at the strip club. "Just how long does he intend to stay in there, anyways?" Raph growled impatiently. He'd spent the last few hours glaring at the dented, scratched up door, waiting for their brother to reappear. Several men had already walked into the joint…only to later stumble out drunk off their ass. "What if he's in trouble or somethin'?"

"Donnie can take care of himself," Leo said, though the trace of concern in his voice wasn't hard to miss. "Still, we'll wait a little while longer. If he doesn't come out soon, we're going in."

"Hey, guys! There he is!" Mikey said as he shot up, nearly giving away their position. "Hey, Donnie!"

"Shhh!" Raph and Leo hissed simultaneously, each of them reaching up to grab his arms and yank him back down. "We're hiding from him, remember, you idiot?" After checking to make sure their cover hadn't been totally blown, Leo stealthily peered back over the edge of the roof and watched his brother emerge from the back of the club.

"Come on." He motioned for his brothers to follow when Donnie began walking down the far end of the alley.

Moving like silent shadows, they leapt over the roofs, stalking their brother as he entered yet another back alley. They waited as he took a moment to shrug off the large trench coat he wore, and then stretched his arms in relief of removing the uncomfortable article of clothing.

Satisfied that they were in a secluded enough area, Leo gave the signal and all three of them dropped into the alley, landing directly in front of Donnie.

With a startled yelp, Donnie stumbled back and tripped over a trash can. He fell onto his ass in an ungraceful heap, his eyes large from the shock.

"Donnie," Leo greeted. His serious tone made no effort to hide the fact that his younger brother had some explaining to do.

"You guys…" Donnie placed a hand over his heart, silently willing it to stop beating so hard. "Geez, you scared the tarnations out of me!"

"'Tarnations'…?" Raph drawled, embarrassed for him. "Really, Donnie, you're a New Yorker. At least act like one."

"What are you guys doing? And what were you thinking, sneaking up on me like that?" Donnie took the hand Mikey offered him and brushed himself off once he got to his feet.

"I think the real question is, what were you doing around the humans, Donnie?" Leo got straight to the point.

"The humans…what are you talking about – wait, were you guys following me?"

"It was Leo's idea!" Raph was quick to point out. "I said we should just leave you alone."

"And now I'm glad we didn't." Leo stepped forward to give his intellectual brother a stern glare. "You know it's dangerous to go out in public like that, even more so when you spend so much time around them. You were in there for hours. What if someone found you out? Worse, what if Splinter found out?"

"Yeah, well, I wasn't and he isn't going to, so long as you guys keep your traps shut." Donnie frowned, feeling a touch of anger over the fact that they had actually been spying on him.

"What were you doing in there for so long, anyways?" Mikey asked. His voice held more curiosity than accusation, unlike Leo's had.

"I was helping a guy with some repairs. There's a lot of work he needs done, so I volunteered my services."

Raph scoffed. "And I'm sure the fact that these 'repairs' need to be done in a strip club has nothing to do with your decision."

"They can't afford to hire help, Raph. I was being generous. That's all. It's not what you're thinking."

"Hehe, I wonder if they pay him in lap dances." Mikey leaned over to whisper the jab in Raph's ear.

"You don't think it's a male strip club, do you?" Raph sniggered in reply. "That place must be a real _cock_pit."

"No, no, no, I got one," Mikey continued eagerly. "What do you call two nuns and a stripper?"

"I don't know. Two tight ends and a wide receiver?" Raph finished, their laughter growing louder.

Donnie frowned as he tried to tune out their idiotic repartee.

"That's enough, guys. Get it together," Leo interrupted their banter, sounding serious as ever. "You shouldn't laugh at him for trying to be charitable. Besides, they probably can't afford to pay him because all the men keep throwing monopoly money at the girls."

"Monopoly money?" Donnie grimaced, not understanding.

"Yeah, cause they keep shoving fake tits in their faces," Leo finished, completely straight faced, causing his brothers to burst out into more laughter.

"Ohh! Snap, son!" Mikey threw up his hands, while Raph slipped Leo a low fist bump at the burn.

Donnie rolled his eyes. "Will you guys cut it out? While you're all goofing off all the time, I'm the one earning money to pay for everything. At least show a little gratitude."

"Of course we appreciate you, Donnie." Raph stepped forward and slung one massive arm around his shoulders. "That doesn't change the fact that you're still a huge dweeb."

"Thanks," Donnie drawled sardonically. "Can we just go home, already?"

"Sure thing. After you, stripper boy." With a hard slap on the back, Raph pushed him towards the nearest manhole.

"Enough with the stripper jokes," Donnie said as he pulled the heavy metal covering open and pushed it to the side like it weighed nothing. "And no one says a word of this to Splinter or I stop paying for pizza for a week."

"What?!" Mikey shrieked. "Leo, you gotta talk some sense into him!"

"That's real underhanded, Don." Leo frowned, also not pleased by the news.

"Yeah, so is spying on me." With his point made, Donnie jumped down into the sewers.

"You can't do it, bro! I swear, I'll never make another stripper crack again!" Mikey yelled into the hole. "Think of all the Pizza Huts it would put out of business! Can you really have that on your conscience?"

"Enough, Mikey! He gets it!" Raph shoved the smaller terrapin forward, causing him to go stumbling into the sewer with arms flailing.

After that, the majority of the walk home was spent arguing over the pizza situation. Although Leo mostly tried to keep his opinions on it quiet, even he thought it was a little harsh. They had only made it a few blocks from the manhole they'd entered through, and were still in the midst of attempting to persuade Donnie to recant his threat, when Leo caught on to the distinct sound of someone following them.

Tapping one of his brothers on the shell, he grabbed their attention and, taking the clue, all of them instantly fell silent.

"Someone's following us," Leo whispered.

Just beyond the curve of the tunnel, they could clearly make out the loud clicking of heels trying to sneak up on them. Every so often, a feminine squeal of alarm would echo off the metal piping, followed by a not-so-subtle '_gross!_' or '_oh my gawd!_' that literally broadcasted the person's position in the most conspicuous manner possible.

Donnie frowned when he could have sworn he actually saw an elbow clumsily flail out from behind a corner, only to zip back into hiding.

"Woah, someone seriously needs to go back to stealth 101," Mikey commented.

"I'll take care of this, guys," Donnie said as he turned back and began walking towards the intruder. He already had a good idea who it was, and if his suspicions were right, he'd rather keep his brothers out of it. Thankfully, they offered no argument. The three of them hung back as he approached the person, his footsteps soundless compared to the noisy clamor their little shadow had been creating.

When Donnie reached the corner he'd seen the elbow pop out from, he was unsurprised to find the girl from the strip club hiding there, not even noticing his presence. With her back pressed to the wall, she was too wrapped up in her efforts to avoid a particularly nasty clump of grime on the ground in front of her to even see him. She stared at all the slimy wetness around her high-heeled feet, as if her brain was working overtime in a bid to unlock a way around it. Trying to creep along the wall and simultaneously sidestep that particularly nasty looking wad of trash, the girl ended up twisting her ankle before quickly righting herself.

"Ow!" She pressed her hand against the wall to catch herself and regain her balance, only to hastily pull it away when she felt the thick coating of moisture clinging to its surface. "Ew!" she said even louder, and then automatically went to wipe her palm on her jeans. She quickly stopped when she realized that would be just as gross. Instead, she just stared at her hand, as if at a loss as to what to do.

Donnie had to question her thinking. What had she been expecting coming into a sewer? Shiny marble flooring and fresh potpourri? Even April had learned not to wear nice clothing down here anymore. Still, he had to hand it to the girl. Seeing her wearing regular clothes, and not the flashy outfits he usually saw her in at work, he noticed just how pretty she really was. With her black wedges and her yellow polka dotted blouse tucked into the high-waist of her jeans, she looked even more attractive and doll-like than usual…even with all that glitter still clinging to her skin.

"Sparkle, what are you doing here?"

Startled by his voice, the girl's blonde curls bounced around her face as her head snapped up. "Donnie! H-how did you know I was here?"

"A hunch…"

"Oh, well, in that case-"

"Why are you following me?"

A faint blush spread across her cheeks. "Well, I didn't really mean to follow you. It's just, I haven't seen ya at the club much lately. My shift just got over and when I heard that you were there tonight, I got a little disappointed that you didn't at least find me to say hi, so I just thought…"

"You'd follow me?" Donnie concluded the sentence for her. "Listen, you really shouldn't be here. You need to go back to the surface before my brothers-"

"Woah, who's the babe?" Donnie's shoulders fell at the sound of Mikey's voice behind him.

"-find you," Donnie finished, already knowing it was too late.

Sparkle gasped as three giant mutants stepped up beside Donnie, making her feel incredibly trapped. Earlier, when she had peeked into the alley he'd slipped into, it had been dark and all she saw was a single large figure jumping down a manhole – a figure she had assumed to be Donnie. Now she could see she'd been wrong. He hadn't been alone. There were more creatures like him, and each one was as startling as the last. The bandanas on their faces did little to hide the fact that their features were not human. They were large, muscular and intimidating, and every one of these aspects felt all the more exacerbated by the reality that she was so alone and had made the mistake of isolating herself underground. Their bodies were strapped with weapons and cheap, makeshift armor, and no matter how she looked at it, they dwarfed her in comparison; from the smallest one who wouldn't stop smiling at her, to the huge one, whose size was seriously giving her pause. Seeing that his muscles were literally bigger than her torso, and that he was currently glaring at her in a very unfriendly manner, Sparkle tried to take a step back, but found her spine was already flat against the wall.

Scared out of her wits, the girl dashed behind Donnie and clung to his shell as her wide eyes stared up at them. "W-who are they?"

"I'm impressed, Donnie. Who would've thought a shut-in like you would actually be able to get yourself a girlfriend…and one so hot, too." Raph chuckled mockingly.

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Then who is she?"

"She's one helluva babe, that's who she is." Mikey stepped closer, cooing at the frightened girl as if that would actually convince her to come out of hiding. "Aw, come on, we won't hurt you. We're just a bunch of big, green turtles. Nothing scary about that, is there?"

"Back off, Mikey, you're scaring her!" Donnie shoved his hand into his brother's face and pushed him back.

"The only thing she's scared of is getting seduced by this handsome mug," Mikey retorted.

"D-Donnie…" Sparkle ventured nervously, attempting to make herself appear even smaller than she already felt.

"Oh my god, she's even got a cute little accent!" Mikey slapped Donnie's hand away and leaned back in, amused by the way she pronounced his brother's name 'Dawny' rather than 'Donnie'. "I can't believe she'd be interested in a tech head like you! I'm clearly the better choice."

"Give her some space already!" Donnie shot back, once more trying to push Mikey away.

"Why would I want to do that? I'm just gonna say hi." He winked at her flirtatiously, even as they continued to struggle.

"Yeah right, you're frightening her!"

"Don't be such a bummer, bro. You should have known it would be inevitable that she'd fall in love with me as soon as you introduced us. It's gonna happen, just accept it and move on."

"I'm not introducing you to her, Mikey."

"Then you're just jealous!"

"I'm not jealous. I'm trying to be considerate!"

"Oh, look! Someone's throwing away a perfectly good laptop!" Mikey suddenly pointed to something over Donnie's shoulder.

"What?! Where?" The moment Donnie turned his head, Mikey snatched the girl out from behind him. By the time Donnie realized he'd been duped, Mikey already had her back against the wall, his forearm resting over her head as he leaned in uncomfortably close.

"Hey gurl, what do you say we get together sometime?"

"That's it!"

By the time the first punch was thrown, Raph had taken it upon himself to break up the fray, which only made it worse. Still terrified out her mind, Sparkle curled her arms close to herself and glued her body to the wall as much as possible, trying to stay out the brothers' warpath.

Leo rolled his eyes from where he watched the situation unfold and shook his head in disappointment. Put one girl between them and this is what they were reduced to. It was no wonder April got so fed up with them all the time.

"Enough!" he shouted above the ruckus, prompting his brothers to freeze at the harshness of his voice.

With Raph's fist poised only inches from his face, Donnie gulped up at his blue-clad brother, knowing he was in for one long, painful lecture.

"So, no one saw you, huh Donnie?" Leo crossed his arms and glared down at him. "I think you have some serious explaining to do."

"Yes, about that…" Donnie hastily shoved Raph off his person and stood up, adjusting his glasses nervously as he tried to think of a way out of his predicament. "You see, she just…that is…I mean, what happened was…"

Leo held up his hand to stop him. "Save it for Master Splinter. We're bringing her back to the lair to see what he wants to do with her."

"What? We can't do that," Donnie said. "She's not going to tell anyone."

"That's for Splinter to decide."

"Seriously, Leo," Donnie sighed in frustration. "There are gangs of thieves out there that hunt us day and night. Do you really think one girl is going to cause a problem?"

"It's not just for our safety, Don. It's also for hers." Leo nodded to the frightened woman. "Remember what happened the last time we let a girl go after she found out about us?" Of course he had to bring April into this.

Realizing he was right, Donnie relented, knowing there was no other way around it.

When he turned back to the girl, Donnie rubbed the back of his neck as he tried to figure out a way to convince her to come with them..._without_ taking her by force. She was clearly scared, so he highly doubted it would be as easy as he was hoping.

"Sparkle," he called gently, pulling her eyes back up to him. The blue orbs were watery as she fought back her tears, her gaze clinging to his own like a lifeline. "You need to come with us for a bit. There's someone I want you to meet."

She instantly shook her head no and Donnie sighed.

Taking a step closer, he offered her his hand. He held it out for her to take at her leisure, wanting to make her as comfortable as possible. "I promise, nothing bad will happen to you," he continued patiently. "These are my brothers. They won't hurt you. Please, come with us?" She still looked hesitant as she stared down at his hand, but he could see the way she flexed her fingers inside her fist anxiously, as if she was internally debating taking it. Certain that he was making some headway, Donnie reached his hand closer. "Do you trust me?"

Her eyes suddenly darted back up to his, allowing him to see that some of her fear was melting away.

Very slowly, she nodded.

"Then you should know I won't let anything happen to you."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she nodded again. Fingers shaking, she carefully reached out and placed her hand in his. Donnie smiled down at her, encouraging her to offer him a watery smile of her own.

"Sweet," Mikey said behind them. "She's gonna _love_ it back at the lair."

"Shut up, Mikey," Raph groaned.

"What? I'm just sayin'." Mikey shrugged. "I can't wait to show her my new Lady Gaga poster."

"Nobody wants to see your stupid poster!"

.

.

.

_It had been a good hour before they could get Sparkle to calm down after her first introduction to Splinter. Their beloved father had been exceptionally patient with the hysterical girl, even in the face of all her screaming. __The ordeal of having to explain how he and Sparkle came to meet, and how she managed to find out about his true identity, however, was much more difficult to sit though. _

"_Dude, they really did try to pay him in lap dances," Mikey snickered under his breath, prompting Leo to jab him with his elbow in chastisement. _

"_I see, so it was an accident, after all," Splinter mused as he stroked his beard. _

"_Of course, Master," Donnie replied. "I would have never shown myself to her intentionally, or anyone else for that matter." _

"_Yet you still went to the establishment knowing the risks." _

_Donnie held his tongue, knowing he was guilty. "My apologies, Master." _

"_I do not approve of the fact that you willing jeopardized your own safety, and inadvertently the safety of this family. Still, you gave these humans your word. I expect you to hold to it, my son," Splinter said as he stood up and stepped closer to his child. _

"_What? You still expect me to go back there?" Donnie's eyes widened in disbelief. Honestly, he was kind of hoping Splinter would forbid him from ever returning to the club, which would have given him a great reason to never have to fix anymore of George's rundown building. _

"_It is your mess. You will clean it up," Splinter said sternly. _

"_Master, what about the girl?" Leo asked. _

_Splinter continued stroking his beard as he stared down at her in contemplation. She squirmed uneasily under his gaze, her round hips scooting even nearer to Donatello than she already was. Judging by how close she still insisted on sitting next to his son for reassurance, along with how he noticed the way she kept casting him embarrassingly obvious glances from the corner of her eye, he could tell she'd be rather disappointed if he forbid her from returning to see his young pupil. Regardless, this was his family, his children, and he wouldn't be taking any risks just to spare her feelings. _

"_The girl can return to where you found her, but you will keep an eye on her to ensure her safety..._from a distance_. No matter how small the chances, if Shredder or The Foot find out about her connection to us, she could be in danger." _

_At his decision, all of the brothers bowed to their master respectfully. "Yes, Master," they said in unison. _

"_R__eturn her to the surface, Donatello. It is nearly dawn and I do not want anymore humans seeing you than necessary." With that, their Master disappeared inside his room and slid the door shut behind him. _

That had been how her meeting with his father had played out, which had went surprisingly better than he expected.

"Well, it could have been worse," Donnie muttered to himself as he escorted their new 'friend' back to her apartment.

"Did you say somethin'?" Sparkle asked from where she trailed along behind him, trying to keep up with his long strides while simultaneously avoiding the perils of the sewer they were currently trudging through.

"Hm? Oh...it's nothing." Donnie glanced back at her over his shoulder and decided that an explanation was in order. With the trouble she'd just caused him, he couldn't help but feel he deserved one. "Just what were you thinking following me down here, anyways?" He frowned slightly.

"I'm not really sure," she lied. "I guess I was just a little curious."

"Curious enough to enter the _sewers_?" he stated dubiously.

Sparkle bit her lip, at a loss as to how to respond. Truth was, she'd been intending on catching up to him and asking him out on a date...that is, if only she could figure out _how_ to ask a six-foot-seven turtle out on a date. Once she saw the rest of his brothers, however, she'd completely lost all of her nerve. Now, she reached deep inside herself in the hopes of rekindling that nerve now that they were alone, but she came up completely empty. She just couldn't do it. It was humiliating enough that she'd been caught following him, but after the night she'd just had, that humiliation didn't really seem all that bad in the grander scheme of things.

"Your curiosity could have put you in danger. Don't you have any sense of self-preservation?"

"But nothin' happened. Besides, I'm sure you would have protected me. A big, strappin' guy like you, I bet you could look out for a girl real good." She beamed up at him, causing Donnie to become uncomfortable once again. Why was this girl so intent on following him around? Even during the times he worked at the club, she practically stuck to him like glue. She was like a bee to honey.

"Listen, Sparkle-"

"Actually...Sparkle is just my stage name," she interrupted. "My real name is Charlotte, but you can call me Sparkle, if you like." She smiled at him prettily. "Maybe next time you come by the club, you can tell me a little more about yourself. Or maybe we could even get somethin' to eat. There's a Taco Bell not too far down the block, it's really the only place that stays open that late at night, but we could just-"

"About that…"

"You are going to come back to the club…right?"

Donnie seriously debated saying no. Despite his Master's orders to uphold his word and continue helping George with repairs, there wasn't anything left at the club that he absolutely had to fix. He'd already taken care of their computer problem, repaired the stage lights and even added a new security system that George had harassed him into installing. It would probably be better if he never went back there again, especially considering just how right Splinter was about The Foot Clan possibly finding out about her. It was hard enough just keeping April safe all the time. At least she had Casey with her. Donnie highly doubted this girl had a crime fighting boyfriend to watch out for her like April did.

"I was thinking about just hanging back for a while." Sparkle's face slowly began to fall at his words. "Your boss doesn't need anything else fixed up around the club, and it would probably be best if you never saw me again. It's really not safe. Besides, it's not like I'm going to be around forever, anyways. You can't honestly expect me to keep coming back." Why did it feel and sound like he was making excuses?

"You mean I'm never going to see you again?"

Donnie gulped. Shit, was she going to start crying? He really hoped not.

"You're never comin' back?"

"Probably…no."

"But, Donnie…who's gonna fix the boss's computer every time it crashes? Or what about the spinnin' pole every time it breaks down? What are the girls gonna dance on? It quits workin' at least twice a night. And the vanity lights in our dressin' room? Think about how the gals would feel if you just disappeared one day. You know they all really love you there."

"Sparkle…I'm truly sorry, but it's just not a good idea."

Sparkle swallowed hard and clenched her fists when she felt her eyes tearing up. She really enjoyed the time she had spent with Donnie. He was the nicest boy she'd ever met. He didn't judge her or treat her like she was dumb like everyone else did. Most of all, he didn't shove her around like all of her old boyfriends.

"I...I understand." She didn't want to say the words, but what else could she do? She was struggling just to hold back the emotions in her voice. "I guess this is goodbye, then."

"I guess." Donnie smiled down at her, trying to make it as easy for her as possible. "Take care…Charlotte."

Determined not to make a fool of herself, Sparkle nodded in agreement and forced herself to smile back at him. "You, too." Blinking back her tears, she turned and started to make her way up the old, rusty ladder that led to the surface. The morning sun was beginning to peek in through the cracks in the manhole, illuminating the glossy tears hanging in the corners of her eyes that the shadows of the sewer had been hiding so well up until that point.

Pausing halfway up, Sparkle frowned. It had taken a lot of courage to ask him to come back and maybe spend some time together. And what had he done? He'd practically told her that he never wanted to see her again. Even if she understood his reasons, she just couldn't let it end like that, not with him. She at least wanted a better goodbye than the one he'd given her. Determined to show him how she felt, she gathered every ounce of her courage, steeled her features, and turned back to this unusual boy that had somehow fallen into her life. "Before I go...I...I just gotta tell you one more thing..." With a dark blush on her cheeks, Sparkle reached out and grabbed the strap of his backpack. Putting an impressive amount of strength into the movement, she jerked him forward just as she bent down to capture his lips. Taken off guard, Donnie stumbled into her unexpected kiss, causing his eyes to widen in astonishment when he felt her lips meet his.

Despite the force she'd used, there was something undeniably gentle about her kiss. It was deep and sincere and seemed to end much too soon. She'd closed her eyes tight, as if she was trying to savor every short second of it, but all he could think about was how soft she felt. Real soft. Almost making him regret the feeling of letting her pull away.

Her lips left his slowly, even as Donnie remained completely frozen in place, scarcely able to react for the shock.

When her lashes eventually fluttered back open, there was still sadness in her eyes, but there was also a glimmer of resolved satisfaction. "Now I can say goodbye." The smile she gave him afterwards was as soft and bittersweet as the morning sunlight that filtered in from the surface, leaving him staring after her in stunned silence.

With her piece said, she turned back and resumed her trip up the ladder. Donnie couldn't help but watch her in amazement, suddenly noticing the way the sunlight was playing around her blonde hair like a halo, and the way her hips and backside swayed with each step on the ladder she climbed; all of which were things he hadn't really noticed before for some reason. Still, he couldn't understand why she'd done what she'd done. She'd actually kissed him. _Him_: a mutant. He'd never expected any humans other than April and Casey to ever truly accept him for what he and his brothers were. He never really thought anyone else ever would. Though he'd never bothered to waste time on wondering what his life would've been like had he been born a human, in this moment he honestly couldn't stop himself from asking himself all those _what if's_.

Even if he was human, what would a girl like her want with a guy like him? He was a bona fide, certified nerd; a total outcast even by mutant standards. He had tape on his glasses, for Christ's sake! Wasn't he basically the walking, talking textbook definition of the type of man every girl _didn't_ want? And she…she was a gorgeous, highly-desired woman who could probably have anyone she wanted. Her curves were lush and perfect, her face pleasing to the eye, and her breasts large enough to pull a man out of a coma.

She shouldn't want to kiss him the way she had.

Donnie wasn't two seconds into his musings when he was snapped back into reality by the sound of her frustrated grunts and growls. He glanced up to find her struggling to remove the manhole covering, her small arms lacking the strength to push the heavy casing open.

"Hey, Donnie," Sparkle's sheepish voice called down to him. Now that her big, romantic exit had been ruined, embarrassment was practically dripping from her every syllable. "Do you think you could help me out with this?"

Donatello shook his head in exasperation.

This woman…

.

.

.

The store surrounding them was nice and dark, offering up the perfect cover he and his brothers needed to get into place.

Donnie peeked around the corner of an aisle loaded down with dusty, untouched candy bars and equally dusty and untouched bright pink Dora the Explorer toys, waiting for the signal from Leo to move forward. The four of them had been out on one of their group patrols when they'd stumbled upon a small gang of thugs breaking into a pharmacy. The pharmacy itself had been closed for the night, but that hadn't seemed to deter the thugs from trying to make a withdraw from the ATM located at the back of the store, or the drug pantry.

Sneaking up on the goons hadn't been hard, especially with the utter lack of security around the place. They had gotten in as easily as the thieves had and had surrounded them just as effortlessly. There were eight of them in total, all fumbling over each other as they tried to crack the ATM machine with little success.

Donnie extended his staff, knowing Leo would be making his move soon. He could see his eldest brother's shadow creeping forward and knew it was time to act. Just as he made to step out from behind the aisle, the loud lyrics of Wu-Tang Clan started blaring from his belt;

_I grew up on the crime side, the New York Times side  
Staying alive was no jive  
At second hands, moms bounced on old men  
So then we moved to Shaolin land_

Donnie froze, realizing too late that he'd forgotten to turn off his ringtone.

Instantly, the thugs' heads snapped back towards the noise.

"Someone's here!" one of them shouted out. "We've been found out!"

Donnie grit his teeth and tried not to curse in frustration. Leo was going to have his head for this. "Well, there goes the ambush," he said as he stepped out from behind his hiding spot and whacked one of the men on the back of the head when he went running for the door.

The moment the rest of their group saw the huge, green mutant standing before them, their faces contorted in terror and disbelief.

"What the _fuck_?!"

"Really, there's no need for foul language." Donnie swept another man's feet out from under him, causing him to fall back and smack his head on the floor.

"Seriously, Donnie?" Raph said as he landed beside him and sent his fist into one thug's gut. "These guys are trying to tear open an ATM and all you can gripe about is their language?"

"Another one? What the hell is going on here?!" The men's panic was beginning to grow, even in the face of the fact that they were getting their asses handed to them like canon fodder. When both Leo and Mikey stepped up behind them, a genuine look of 'I just crapped my pants' fell over their faces. Taking care of them after that had been child's play and it wasn't long before they had their small gang tied up in a nice, neat pile outside the pharmacy, waiting for the police. Once apprehended, Mikey had taken it upon himself to leave a little note hanging from one of their necks reading, 'looking for cellmate, must love bitch position and dropping soap in shower'.

They had barely made it three blocks away when Leo turned to Donnie and scowled. "What was that back there, Don?" he asked, apparently deciding to confront him on his mistake right away. "You never slip up like that."

"Yeah, that's usually Mikey's job," Raph added.

"Hey!" Mikey retorted. "I've never left my phone on like that."

"No, but you do screw up a lot."

"Sorry, Leo," Donnie relented. "It won't happen again."

"What's been with you lately, anyways?" Leo asked. "You're too distracted. Your concentration is all over the place."

"I'm not that bad," Donnie defended himself. He was willing to admit his mistake, but he certainly hadn't been 'all over the place'. "Besides, it was just last week Mikey tripped a silent alarm and nearly got us caught by the police. I don't see you getting onto him for that, especially when I was the one who had to wipe all the security cameras clean." Just as he was about to make another defense, his phone started going off again. A little concerned to see who was so intent to call him so late at night, he pulled the small device from his belt and checked the number, half expecting it to be April.

"Hm, that's odd," he noted aloud. "I don't recognize the number." Hitting the answer button, he lifted receiver to his ear. "Hello?"

Donnie instantly jerked back as he was met with some of the most the crude yelling and cursing he'd ever heard.

"Wow, someone needs their blood pressure checked," Raph said. He could hear the shouting all the way from where he stood.

"George?" Donnie frowned in confusion as he pulled the phone back to his ear. "How did-"

"This computer you worked on is broke again! You said it would last_ at least_ another year! Maybe I'm confused about the date, or maybe you just don't know your shit! Is this really how you run your business? Making cheap repairs and then leaving your clients to fend for themselves?! Someone should string you up by the neck to teach you a lesson!" The man just kept going on and on, until finally he shouted, "Better yet, do something about this mess you made! I won't accept this half-assed shit from you anymore! I want you down here within the hour and I want it taken care of tonight!"

"What? That's impossible! I not just going to drop everything and go over there whenever you want." Something about it didn't sit right with him, anyways. He'd practically rebuilt that computer with his own two hands, there was no way the thing was faulty. "Besides, there must be some mistake. I personally made sure it was working properly the last time I left."

"Well guess what? It's not! Now get your ass down here and fix it!" George hung up before Donnie could ask anything more, leaving him unable to even refuse.

"Is everything alright?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, but…how can his computer be broken? I just fixed it," Donnie thought to himself.

"Hey, we all make mistakes, bro." Mikey gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

"I don't make mistakes, Mikey. Especially when it comes to work."

"You screwed up back at the pharmacy," Raph supplied all too happily, to which Donnie only ignored him.

"How did he even get my cell number?"

"Maybe your girl gave it to him."

"For the last time, she's not my girl, Raph. And I never gave her my number. Unless…" Donnie looked over to Mikey, who had suddenly found great interest in staring up at the smog-filled sky. "Mikey..."

"So she got your number…that's like, totally weird…" Mikey chuckled nervously.

"You gave her my number, didn't you?" Donnie clenched the phone tighter in his hands, hardly able to believe his brother's stupidity.

"What did you expect me to do?" Mikey whined defensively. "She asked me for it before you guys left the lair. I couldn't turn her down. Look, I don't know if you know this, bro, but that girl is fine. How can you expect me to tell her no?"

Donnie had to fight off the encroaching migraine he felt coming on. Instead of sticking around and run the risk of actually strangling Mikey with his own two hands, he turned away from his brothers and headed off towards the club. "Tell Splinter I'll be back later, I gotta take care of this." With that said, he was gone.

Mikey sighed in relief when Donnie disappeared out of sight, thankful that he'd actually managed to escape totally unscathed. Donnie was so much easier to get along with, even in the face of a big screw up like that. Now, if it had been Raph...

Mikey shuddered at the thought.

"He's not going to talk to you for a week, you know that, right?" Raph said as they all turned and started off in the opposite direction.

"Eh, I'll survive. Unlike you, Donnie's not that bad when he's angry."

"Of course, he'll probably also disassemble your skateboard and refuse to put it back together until you beg him for forgiveness," Raph added, just for the sake of seeing Mikey squirm. He knew full well Donnie would never be so vindictive, but after that comment, there was no way he was letting his little brother off the hook so easily.

"What?! No way, not my rocket powered skateboard!" Mikey paled. "That's almost as horrible as his threat to take away our pizza! You don't think he'll actually do it, do you?"

"I don't know. He seemed pretty pissed." Raph shrugged, sounding as if he was unsure about the skateboard's supposedly uncertain future.

"He wouldn't do it...would he? Raph? Leo? You wouldn't let him do it, right?"

Raph sent Leo an evil smirk as their young sibling began to fall behind, to which Leo merely shook his head in exasperation.

"Raph...Leo?"

Mikey really needed to learn when he was getting his leg pulled.

.

.

.

It was a good while before Donnie arrived at his destination, much longer than the one hour window George had given him to show up and get the job done. Having been quite a distance away, it had taken him some time to get across town and reach the club. By the time he reached the back door, he already had his trench coat in place and his hood thrown over his head.

He wasn't looking forward to whatever earful George had in store for him, but like ripping off a band aid, sometimes it was just best to get it out of the way in one swift go. It would be painful, but quick.

When Donnie knocked on the door, he was met with the now-familiar face of Fred, the bouncer who always seemed to guard the back entrance. Having long since grown used to Donnie's unusual size, Fred had finally lost that instant look of shock that always used to grace his features when he saw Donnie waiting at the door. With each visit, that moment of shock would grow shorter and shorter, until one day it just disappeared from his expression altogether.

"I thought you weren't coming back," Fred said as he turned and automatically began leading him back to George's office. He already knew the reason behind Donnie's visit.

"I wasn't," he answered. "George called me earlier, said there was another problem with his computer."

Always the strong silent type, Fred merely nodded in understanding before he swung George's door open without knocking. "He's already expecting you, go on in."

Donnie thanked him as he stepped inside and was instantly greeted with the not-so-welcoming sensation of George's steely eyes glaring straight into him.

"Ah, the computer guy," George drawled sardonically at the sight of him. "How nice of you to show your face around here again. I was beginning to think you were too good for us lowlifes."

Donnie sighed. "I've been real busy lately," he explained his absence as best he could. "Some things came up."

"Oh, that's interesting," George said, lacking any sincerity whatsoever. "You know what else came up?" Donnie could already guess where this was going… "A bunch of error messages on my screen! Right before it crashed!"

"Let me guess, you want it fixed tonight?"

"Yes!"

He was seriously tempted to remind this guy that he was doing all this work for free. Still, none of his repairs failed…ever. He was not about to let his record become tarnished now. He fully intended to mend this problem. If not for the sake of his pride, then for the fact that something about this whole ordeal smelled fishy and he wanted to find out why.

When George vanished out the side door with a crudely placed threat, Donnie grumbled out a low, mocking 'yes boss' and made his way over to the desk. Squatting down in front of it, he angled the tower towards him and leaned in to take a look.

The moment he saw the back of it, he frowned at the sight of a single tiny screw hanging loose at the top right corner. Donnie stared at the rivet suspiciously.

He never left behind loose screws.

In a long-ingrained habit, he reached over to grab his tools on the desk beside him, only to remember he'd completely forgotten them all back in the lair. Rather, he hadn't brought them at all. He didn't expect he'd need them tonight, not since he was supposed to be going out on just another regular patrol with his brothers.

"Great, now I need to find a-" Before he could finish his sentence, an old, chipped toolbox magically landed on the desk in front of him.

"Hi, Donnie!" Sparkle's cheerful voice greeted him. "Need a toolbox?" Leaning forward onto the rusty metal container, the girl held out a screwdriver and grinned down at him. She didn't seem surprised to see him in the least. In fact, if he didn't know any better, he'd say she'd been expecting him.

"Yeah...thanks," he said slowly, inwardly debating whether to call her out of her suspiciously timely arrival.

Judging by her outfit, he could tell she was still in the middle of her shift or had just gotten off. He was about to ask her if she was still on the clock, simply out of the sheer sake of making civil conversation. However, with the way that flashy material exposed her chest, Donnie was finding it unusually hard not to drop his eyes to her generous cleavage…particularly since she kept leaning forward, making them seem all the more exaggerated in contrast to her small waist.

"So, the boss's computer broke down again, huh?" she asked conversationally.

"Yeah…unfortunately that seems to be the case." Donnie pushed his hood a little farther back than he usually would have felt comfortable with in public. Given the circumstances, however, he felt inclined to keep her in clear eyeshot, just to let her know he was starting to pick up on whatever game she'd decided to play here. "I didn't expect it to give out so soon. Strange how that works…" He eyed her incredulously.

"Real strange." She nodded in agreement.

Reaching out, Donnie accepted the screwdriver she'd offered and then proceeded to dismantle the tower. Once he'd popped the back off, he scowled at the sight before him. Wires were poking out all over the place, shooting this way and that. Several parts had been switched around, a few of which were missing altogether, and way in the back a pb&amp;j sandwich had been jammed into the floppy drive.

"_Real_ strange," Donnie echoed her sentiment as he gave her a good sidelong glare.

"Do you think you can fix it?" she asked innocently, though incriminating guilt was written all over her face...and not an of ounce of it was remorseful.

"I don't know…some of the parts are missing. Funny how some things can just disappear like that."

"Hey, that _is_ weird." Oh yeah, she sounded ridiculously guilty. He wondered if she knew just how obvious she was really was. "I don't know much about that paranormal stuff, but I'm sure it ain't nothin' you can't find a solution to. You're real intellectual like that, yeah? "

"Yeah," Donnie sighed. He already knew there was no way he could get this thing up and running by the end of the night, at least not with half the parts missing. This was definitely not going to be a one-night job. He'd have to come back with the equipment he needed. Somehow, he suspected that's exactly what she'd intended, because by now he already knew she was the culprit.

Although he didn't have all the tools he needed to do most of the repairs, he could at least get a head start on it by trying to reorganize the mess she'd made of the wires.

Apparently having nothing better to do with her time, Sparkle watched him as he worked. She hovered over him, her eyes following the movement of his fingers as he tinkered with this or tweaked that. She seemed genuinely interested in what he was doing, which was certainly a strange change of pace for him. Most of the time, his brothers had _zero_ concern for the work he did. Hell, they made fun of him for his techy habits more than anything. Even April and Casey made jabs at him. The fact that someone was showing a moderate amount of curiosity in his hobby was a little unusual.

"Gee, you really are smart, huh?" Sparkle leaned even further over the side of the desk. "It's amazin' that you know how this stuff works. What I wouldn't give for a brain like yers."

"You mean you want the brain of a mutant?"

"Yeah, why not?" She plopped her chin down into her palm. "Everybody says I ain't got no intellect; a real dummy. I guess the only thing I'm good at is dancin'. Which is fine. I like it and all, but I wonder what it would'a been like to get a real job. You know, somethin' for smart peoples like you."

"Then why didn't you go to college?" Donnie asked, still working as he talked.

"I did…or at least I tried to. And wouldn't you know, every single one I applied for denied me. I suppose those entrance exams were harder than what I thought they'd be. Besides, I couldn't get no fundin', even if they accepted me." Sighing heavily, Sparkle gave a defeated shrug. "Oh well, what are ya gonna do?"

Donnie offered her a sympathetic smile. He actually felt some pity for the girl. It wasn't like she hadn't tried, it just seems like she had some bad luck, is all.

"Say, with a brain like yours, I bet you could get into any college you want!"

Donnie actually scoffed, knowing how unlikely something like that truly was. Even if he took online courses, there was nothing he could do with his degree afterwards. "I highly doubt that."

"Sure you could. If I had smarts like you, I could probably do just about anything I wanted…" Sparkle trailed off dreamily, as if imagining all the possibilities.

Looking for a way to cheer her up, Donnie offered the girl a goodnatured smirk. "It's not so hard. In fact, I bet you could handle this stuff easily."

"Are you kiddin'?" She waved him off. "I don't know nothin' about computers."

"No, really. I know you can do it." He gestured for her to come closer, insinuating he wanted her to give it a try. "Here, let me show you."

Sparkle looked shocked at first. "Get outta here." She smacked his shoulder. "Yer just sayin' that to make me feel better."

"What? I'm serious." Donnie laughed.

"F-for real?" Sparkle hesitated for a moment before excitement suddenly flooded into her eyes. Before Donnie could confirm that, yes, he was for real, the girl pushed away from the toolbox and shimmied around to the front of the desk. She squatted down next to him and glanced at the tower, seeming only slightly intimidated by all the gadgetry. When she looked back up at him, she could hardly seem to contain her broad smile. "What should I do first?"

Donnie couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at finally having someone show an interest in his hobbies. "Well, why don't you try finding the motherboard and we can start from there."

"The motherboard?"

"Yeah, which one do you think it is?"

"Hm, it sounds important…and it must be a board…" Donnie smiled at her simple, but accurate, description. "This one?" She pointed to the video card.

"Close, but it's this one." After making sure everything was unplugged so she didn't zap herself, he pulled the motherboard out and placed it on the desk in front of her. "Now, the last time I was here, the faulty fan burnt off a couple traces on the motherboard. Since I've already fixed the problem, those shouldn't need attention." Sparkle nodded, trying to keep up. "Considering the problem here is the power supply, what would you do first?"

"Power supply? Like, when a vacuum sweeper shuts off cause you accidentally pulled the cord out of the wall?"

"Er, if that makes more sense to you...then yes, something like that."

"Then wouldn't it be commonsense to check the plug-in?

"Which would be…?"

"Um…here!" She correctly pointed to one end of the motherboard. "But there's also another one here that looks just like it…" she said, doubting her choice.

"That's because there's two power supplies. All you have to do is make sure the plugs are fully seated-" With a quiet little click, she reattached the second plug. "-and you've solved the problem."

Giving a squeal of excitement, Sparkle clapped her hands exuberantly. "I did it!" She bounced in place, hardly able to believe it. "Look, Donnie, I really did it!"

"See, I told you you had it in you." He couldn't help but smile at her childish joy. She was so enthusiastic over a simple power supply. If she got that excited over a plug-in, he wondered what she'd be like once she realized she could do even more than that. The girl was far from stupid, she just needed someone to take the time to show her.

Taking him by surprise, she threw her arms around his neck and planted a loud kiss on his cheek, utterly smearing him with her lip gloss. "You really were right. Maybe I ain't so dumb, after all." She giggled. "Let's do another one, please!"

Liking the way she smiled up at him, Donnie placed a hand on her head and lightly ruffled her hair. "I guess it wouldn't hurt." The feel of her curls against his fingers was a bit of a shock. He was hardly able to believe how silky they felt.

"I feel like a regular Einstein, like I gots one of those IQ's!"

"You already had an IQ, Sparkle," he explained. "Everyone has one."

"You don't say," she sounded so amazed. "I guess you just always make me feel like I ain't as stupid as everyone says."

"You shouldn't believe something just because someone tells you it's true," Donnie said.

"I'd believe it if you said so."

A little stunned by her confession, Donnie went to remove his hand from her head.

"Wait!" Sparkle quickly grabbed his wrist and guided it back. When she leaned her cheek into the palm of his large hand, she felt just as soft and silky as every other time he'd come into contact with her. "I like it when you touch me."

The odd thing was…he was starting to like touching her, too. But there was no way he was going to admit that to her.

.

.

.

A week later, Sparkle sat at the bar inside the club, waiting for Fred to walk her to her car for the night. Her shift had just ended and, although she was tired, she was in a delightful mood. Plopping her chin down into the palm of her hand, she let out a long dreamy sigh.

So lost was she in staring off into space that she didn't notice Sharon, one of the club's bartenders, waving her hand in front of her face. "Hello, earth to Sparkle," the woman said, unable to stop from laughing at her young friend.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did you say somethin', Sharon?" Sparkle shook her head as she snapped out of her daze.

"Yeah, I asked if you wanted a drink before you leave." Leaning forward on her elbows, the brunette smiled at her coworker from the other side of the bar.

"Nah, that's okay," Sparkle declined the offer, not even interested in her usual nightly root beer.

"You sure have been sighing a lot lately," Sharon noted with a knowing grin.

"Ya think so?"

"Oh, I know so." Sharon's eyes glittered shrewdly. "You and Donnie seem to be spending quite a bit of time together these days."

"You know, he's a real good guy, and he treats me so nice... Gosh, what I wouldn't give to be his girl." Sparkle sighed again, inwardly wondering what it would be like to be an item with her young mutant friend. "He's so smart, Sharon."

"You're in love," the woman announced sagely.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"I think yer right."

"Hey, Sparkle, you ready to go?" Fred called as he walked past the girls and headed for the door.

"Yeah, I'm comin'!" Sparkle hopped down from her barstool and waved to her friend. "Night, Sharon. I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Night, girl," Sharon also bid her farewell. "And do something about that boy. He's too introverted to make the first move!"

Sparkle laughed and called out an affirmative before she disappeared out the door. It wasn't long before she had caught up with Fred and gave the muscular man a playful punch on the shoulder for leaving her behind.

"You're supposed to be the one walking me to my car, at least wait for me!" she teased.

Though Fred never had been much of a conversationalist, he was always kind to her and the other girls, taking it upon himself to see each one to their vehicles or bus stops at night. The two of them were nearly to the end of the block, heading for the parking garage around the corner, when the sound of a fight breaking out in the club drew their attention backwards.

Fred had his hands buried in the front pocket of his hoodie as he stopped and glanced back. His shoulders sagged as he recognized the loud voices causing all the ruckus. "Looks like Angus is causing Monica trouble again," he said wearily. "I swear, that man goes nuts every time she sets foot on stage."

Sparkle offered him a sympathetic smile. She personally knew just how rowdy some of the regulars could get.

"You think you'll be alright?" Fred asked, his eyes motioning to the parking garage that was just down the street.

"I think I can make it from here." She knew he had to go back and take care of the problem.

With a bid goodnight, Sparkle watched as her escort turned and made his way back to the club entrance, his shoulders slumped against the cool night air. Reaching into her purse, she pulled out her keys and resumed her trek onwards.

She couldn't help but mull over what Sharon had said to her before she left. The word 'love' just kept playing over and over in her mind. Sparkle had never been in love before. Nobody made her feel the way Donnie did.

Maybe Sharon was right and she wasn't being forward enough. Maybe she should just come right out and say it to his face. Though she had deliberately sabotaged George's computer to lure him back, she hadn't actually expected him to return after he fixed it. Yet he had.

Surely that meant something.

Her smile felt impossible to smother as she walked into the garage and towards her rusty old Beetle. With her keys dangling from her fingers, Sparkle froze mid-step when she saw a familiar figure leaning against the hood of her car.

"Johnny?"

At the sound of her voice, the young dark haired man turned his head towards her. A shiver of fear ran down Sparkle's spine, causing her to unintentionally allow her trepidation to slip through on her face. Having no intention of sticking around, she quickly turned and hastily began walking back towards the club.

"Charlotte!" Johnny's harsh voice rang out to her. "Don't you walk away from me!"

"I will if I want ta!" she snapped over her shoulder. "You're stupid if you think I'm stickin' around here with you leanin' all over my car like you own it!"

Rapid footsteps echoed off the concrete walls as Johnny came running up on her. Before she could even get to the entrance of the garage, he had cut her off. "Hey, come on. Where are you going?" he asked, his voice switching from harsh to appeasing in the blink of an eye. It was a sure sign that he wanted something from her, considering he never talked to her like that unless she had something he needed.

"I'm goin' back to the club to wait for Fred." She tried to sidestep him, but he blocked her again. "What do you want, Johnny?" Sparkle looked away from him in exasperation.

"Who says I want anything?" She couldn't help but find it ironic how placating he sounded now. "Maybe I just dropped by to see my girl." He started to place his hands on her hips, but Sparkle quickly jerked out of his grasp.

"I ain't yer girl no more."

Seeing that she was going to be difficult about things, Johnny gave a deep sigh of frustration. "You know, I'm trying to be nice here, Charlotte," he said low, as if his patience with her was already waning. "I've been waiting out here all night and this is the greeting I get?"

"What do you want?" Sparkle asked again, hoping to get this confrontation over with as fast as possible.

"I need a place to stay," he finally answered.

"Well good luck finding a hotel room, cause you ain't stayin' with me." Turning abruptly on her heel, she started marching back to her car. "I left you over a year ago. You're crazy if you think you can just start creepin' around here and expect me to come runnin' back to you."

"Damn it, Charlotte, you know I don't like it when you walk away from me when I'm talking to you."

"Yeah? Well get used to it!" she shot over her shoulder.

"Let's see you keep that attitude of yours up once I take that car away from you," he threatened.

"You can't do that, Johnny! I paid for this car with my own money!" She kept walking away and he kept following. "I ain't gonna let you push me around no more! Just leave me alone."

"You think you can talk to me like that?" Sparkle gave a startled gasp when she felt his hand wrap around her upper arm and whip her around. However, he used too much force, nearly causing her to stumble in her heels. "Are you trying to make me angry?"

"N-no, of course not, Johnny," Sparkle said nervously. She knew all too well what came next.

"You think I wanna rough you up? Honestly, what do expect when you give me that attitude?" The submissive change in her tone only seemed to fuel him all the more.

"L-look, you should just go home, Johnny. I got a new boyfriend now." Sparkle tried to reinstill some confidence back into her voice, though it didn't quite come across as self-assured as she was hoping.

"Oh? You got a man now?" he said, failing to hide his jealously. "I don't see him around here anywhere, do you?" he mocked.

"He will be. He waits for me every night." She knew she was lying to both him and herself, but she was only trying to scare him off. "He's big…bigger than you, Johnny. And he's smart too, unlike you. He ain't gonna like you pushin' me around."

"Enough! Give me your damn keys, Charlotte!"

"No!" He went to grab for her, but she scurried away. "Help! Someone help!"

Her screaming seemed to be the trigger that finally broke his temper. Reaching out, he snatched up a handful of her short blonde locks before she could escape. Sparkle grit her teeth in discomfort as he jerked her back, causing fire to go shooting through her scalp.

When he swung her around, Sparkle's mind reeled as the back of his hand landed across the side of her face. Falling to the concrete, she cried out as pain spread over her cheek. Tears of fear began to pour from her eyes, blurring her vision as she scrambled to retrieve the mase in her purse. With her mind in a haze of panic and her reaction time slowed, Johnny proved to be much faster and was on top of her before she could get her fingers around the little tube of pepper spray.

"No, Johnny! Don't! Please!" she cried as he pulled his fist back again.

Sparkle curled in on herself and covered her head, knowing all she could do now was protect her vitals and attempt damage control.

She flinched when the expected blow never came.

Daring to peek up over her shoulder, her eyes widened at the sight of Donnie standing behind her ex, his hand wrapped around Johnny's fist as it was poised mid-swing.

Pissed at the interruption, Johnny rounded on whoever it was that had dared to butt into his business. The second Johnny spun around, all the color drained from his face.

He could hardly believe what he was seeing.

Staring down at him with a furious scowl was what appeared to be a giant, muscle-bound turtle. Or maybe it was an alien. He really didn't know. "J-Jesus Christ…" All the air left Johnny's lungs as pure disbelief washed over him. "Wha…what the fuck?"

"Honestly, I'd prefer not to resort to violence," Donnie stated. "But under the circumstances, it's going to feel really good when I do _this_." Winding his arm back, Donnie clenched his fist and let it snap forward, landing an unforgiving punch square in the man's jaw. Johnny dropped like a toothpick, his body hitting the pavement hard.

"Well, that was easy," Donnie noted as he reached up to adjust his glasses. He was a little surprised by how effortlessly the man had been knocked unconscious. Even most Foot ninjas could take at least one or two more punches than this guy.

The sound of sniffling drew his attention back to Sparkle, causing a flicker of worry to cross his eyes.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he took a step towards her. Mascara was running down her cheeks in heavy black streaks and one of her eyes was already starting to swell from the blow she had received.

Hearing his approach, Sparkle quickly lowered her head to hide her face. "Y-yeah, I'm fine," she answered hastily, trying to keep him at a distance. Humiliation hit her hard, causing a terrible ache to fill her chest.

"Here, why don't we get you back to the club? You need to put some ice on that-"

Before he could bend down to help her up, Sparkle scrambled to her feet and ran out of the garage, leaving behind her purse and keys. Just the sound of his voice calling out to her caused her heart to clench. Tears streamed from her eyes and quiet sobs fell past her lips as she ran. She could scarcely keep herself from stumbling in her heels, but that was the least of her worries. All that she could think about was the fact that Donnie had just witnessed all that.

She hadn't wanted him to see her like that at all.

She must have looked like a fool to him now. Getting pushed around like that by an ex-boyfriend she hadn't seen in over a year wasn't exactly the way she had wanted to make an impression on him.

Sparkle had only made it a block and a half away before she reached the nearest bus stop. Wiping the moisture from her eyes, she dropped onto the bench and tried to calm herself back down. It was difficult, considering the drama she'd just went through, but she eventually managed to catch her breath.

She was certain fate had it in for her. Growing up without parents, she'd been sent off to live with her aunt and uncle, who had been fairly wealthy. Her uncle had been her mother's brother; a real business shark who'd been running for Senator. He'd disowned her mother when she had married a low class thug who'd spent half his life in and out of prison. When her parents had died one night in an accident that involved drugs and alcohol, her uncle had volunteered to take her due to the publicity it offered.

It had painted him in a loving and caring light, a real family man; the perfect platform for a politician gunning for office. However, once she'd been adopted, her aunt and uncle did everything in their power to ignore her very existence.

They'd also had a daughter who was about her age. The girl had been extremely gifted in every aspect of life. She'd been smart and beautiful and full of potential, and while Sparkle had also been beautiful, she had been labeled dimwitted, slow and unremarkable. Her life had been spent being compared to a child prodigy. They could hardly wait to get rid of her once she'd turned eighteen.

It wasn't as if she hadn't tried to please them, or that she hadn't tried to succeed. If anything, she'd sacrificed most of her childhood in an effort to gain their attention, but all she ever did was fail. Her grades were horrible, she had no talent and just the sound of her shrill, uncultured accent seemed to make her adoptive family cringe in distaste.

Uninterested in harboring her longer than necessary, they'd kicked her out the day of her eighteenth birthday. That had been two years ago, and now that she'd finally met someone who made her feel like a real person, her ex had to show up and ruin things.

Sparkle sniffled sadly as she stood back up and began making her way towards the subway. It was late and she knew the buses didn't run at this hour in this part of town. She'd have to take the train if she wanted to get back home at an hour that actually allowed her to get some sleep.

As she descended the steps to the tunnels, she reached into her pockets and checked to make sure she had enough change to get through. After all, there was no way she was going back to that garage anytime soon. Once she got home, she'd call Sharon and ask if Fred could gather her stuff…that is, if Johnny hadn't woken up and stole her car by then.

.

.

.

The lone silhouette of a man crept inside the shadows, his form hidden in the darkness. He'd followed the girl after she left the garage and was hardly able to believe his luck. As the young woman disappeared into the subway, he reached into his pocket and fished out his cell.

His superior's number was already on speed dial and after only a few rings he received an answer.

"Yeah, it's me…you wouldn't guess what I just found."

There was a moment's pause as the voice on the other end of the line spoke.

"It seems one of the turtles has got himself a new friend. Tell Master Shredder I'm bringing her in tonight."

He was definitely getting a promotion for this.

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.

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***Title based on a strip club in my town called Night Moves, hehe. **

**I usually hate OC's, but for some reason, I had to write this. I don't even feel like the girl in this fic is an OC, I just needed a character that complimented Donnie's personality. So, it's not like I wrote her for the sake of being an OC, she just existed and I put it in writing. Nothing really special about her. I also needed another break from TFPFTS. This is not a self-insert fic, idk why people even do that anyways, and this is NOT a T-cest fic(_FUCK_ NO). I don't know shit about computers and I don't know if I'll have time to finish this. I also had an interesting character thought out for Mikey, and of course Leo and Karai and Raph and Mona Lisa. It would be fun to write one shots for each of them, but my schedule has been packed, and for some reason, Donnie just jumped to the front of the list, even though he's not my favorite, lol. Anyways, hope you ****enjoyed the read. **

**Until next time!**


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